Chapter 152: When Finding a Wife, You Must Marry a Beautiful One

"Young Master, the mission failed."

"Buffalo, didn't I send Lao G to accompany you to Amazon Lily? The Empress isn't there, and the country's military strength is depleted. Lao G's power alone is more than enough for you to do as you please. How could you possibly fail? I am deeply disappointed." A chilling voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi, sending a shudder through Buffalo's entire body.

"It's not that, Young Master. A sudden, unexpected turn of events caused the mission to fail. During our battle with the warriors of Amazon Lily, we were winning on all fronts and were just about to seize the empty ship when a beast suddenly burst out of nowhere and routed us," Buffalo explained defensively.

"A beast? Where is Lao G?"

"Lao G was heavily injured and is still unconscious. That beast... its appearance after transforming was somewhat similar to the Ghost Hunter in Impel Down, and it also possessed the ability to manipulate sand. Your subordinate suspects that beast might be related to the Ghost Hunter."

"The Ghost Hunter is still alive... How interesting. Since that's the case, release the news that you found the empty ship. Let the World Government and the pirates pressuring Amazon Lily squeeze them harder. Oh, Empress, let's see how you handle this now. Hahahaha!"

"As you command, Young Master."

...

Back home.

"My dear wife, was your husband quite amazing today?" Shu Mingyuan broke the silence, pulling Shukaku off his shoulder and placing it into Marguerite's arms, earning a resentful look from the tanuki.

Marguerite had already guessed his true identity, which was why the two of them hadn't exchanged a single word the entire way back. Because of this, Shu Mingyuan felt a headache coming on. Whatever happened to the quiet, secluded life he was promised? Barely two or three days in, and his identity was already exposed. Such a feeling was truly annoying.

So, he decided to pretend nothing had happened, hoping to repair their relationship.

Shu Mingyuan's sudden address sent a jolt of panic through Marguerite. On their walk home, her mind had been filled with horrific scenarios of the Ghost Hunter silencing her to keep his secret, leaving her corpse abandoned in the wilderness.

However, looking at him now, it seemed all her overthinking was for nothing—the guy simply had no intention of admitting it.

Well, that was fine too.

Shu Mingyuan stood in front of the mirror, admiring his own perfect, delicate physique. His shoulders were like carved jade, his waist slender as a silk ribbon, his neck long and graceful, and his fair skin glowing. Between his eyebrows rested a faint, half-finger-sized diamond-shaped mark, exuding a gentle yet captivating aura with an extraordinary temperament.

"Truly pleasing to the eye..."

The person in question made a remarkably shameless remark.

"If I ever look for a wife in the future, anyone less pretty than me is an absolute no."

The person put on an aloof act: "None of you look as pretty as me in women's clothing, yet you still want to be my wife?"

Marguerite stared at Shu Mingyuan with a mixture of embarrassment and indignation. She found that ever since this person finished taking a bath, he had completely transformed into a different person. In front of him, besides her proud chest, she had absolutely no advantages left. Even her usually proud and exquisite face was crushed by his flawless looks. As for his temperament, after putting on women's clothing, he possessed an ethereal grace, looking much more like an otherworldly fairy.

Perhaps, only Lady Hancock could stably surpass him in beauty.

Marguerite cast a resentful gaze at Shu Mingyuan's chest.

He scorned, "I naturally don't have breasts, so what are you staring at my chest for? Young master's pride is being a cute trap with a big dick. Do you have one?"

With that, he directly stripped off his dress and lay down on the bed wearing only a pair of yellow lace panties trimmed with small daisies.

"Ah, this is still the most comfortable..."

Marguerite was filled with grief and indignation. Had he no shame at all? Ever since she learned that intimate contact with a man could lead to having babies, she had resolutely kept her distance from him.

"Are... are you really the notorious Ghost Hunter?" Marguerite asked.

Shu Mingyuan grinned. "No."

Marguerite rolled her eyes. "I brought your sword back, but ever since this morning, that sword has vanished. It looks extremely similar to the sword the Ghost Hunter is seen with in pictures."

Shu Mingyuan's mouth twitched, and he remained silent.

Some matters were better left unexplained; over-explaining only made things worse.

Maintaining this ambiguous relationship suited them well. If Marguerite believed he was the Ghost Hunter, then he was Shu Mingyuan; if she thought otherwise, he was Shu Mingyue. This made getting along much more harmonious.

If he were to interact with Marguerite under the terrifying identity of the Ghost Hunter, she might not even have the courage to look him in the eye, and what was once a lighthearted life would instantly become dull and tasteless.

Marguerite seemed to have realized this as well, and unwilling to dwell on the topic, she asked directly, "You mentioned the Ghost Hunter was heavily injured. In the end, how could he dare risk exposing his hiding spot just to appear before everyone?"

Shu Mingyuan saw right through Marguerite's little thoughts; she was simply probing to find out his true intentions and whether he would bring disaster to the country.

Shu Mingyuan smiled ambiguously. "Who knows what goes through the minds of people like that? Perhaps he felt that people like us at the time posed no threat to him, and taking away the Goro Goro no Mi was more out of some form of protection. If that news had leaked outside, Amazon Lily might genuinely have been turned upside down."

"You mean he was protecting us?" Marguerite asked cautiously.

"Maybe, possibly, probably so," Shu Mingyuan chuckled.

"I'm just afraid that because of him, our country will face danger," Marguerite said with a worried frown.

"As far as I know, outside rumors about the Ghost Hunter seem to be mistaken. The people he kills are entirely heinous pirates. Furthermore, he dared to single-handedly break into Impel Down just for the sake of a pet, which shows he is a man who values loyalty and deep affections. Since this place saved his life, reason and sentiment dictate that he wouldn't let the flames of war reach this small island, right?" Shu Mingyuan rested his hands behind his head and said softly.

Marguerite curled her lips, her inner thoughts spinning: "Is this guy trying to justify his own actions?"

However, judging from her interactions with him over the past two days, he certainly didn't seem like the heinous, bloodthirsty maniac portrayed in outside rumors. On the contrary, he had a gentle and approachable personality. If she hadn't accidentally learned his true identity, she would never have associated him with the ferocious Ghost Hunter in a million years.

Mainly because once he put on women's clothing, he was just too beautiful...

Out of a hundred women standing before him, ninety-nine would be utterly crushed, and the last one would simply be someone completely devoid of any concept of beauty.

"Let's go, let's visit Granny Nyon again."

Touching the diamond-shaped mark between his eyebrows, Shu Mingyuan said indifferently. This mark had appeared after he finished his bath. Although he wasn't sure what caused it, it was almost certainly related to the medicinal bath Marguerite had used to treat him.

Moreover, he had a grand hypothesis in his mind that he wanted to verify. If he was right, this severe injury might actually grant him a massive stroke of fortune. As the saying goes, a loss of a horse may well be a blessing in disguise.

"Why are we going back to Granny Nyon?"

Shu Mingyuan rolled his eyes, flipped his hand to reveal a block of gold, and said, "Are you coming to help someone pay off their debt or not?"

Marguerite's face darkened. She had completely forgotten that in order to pay for Shu Mingyuan's medical treatment, she still owed Granny Nyon a massive debt of two hundred million Berries.

"Whose fault is it that I got into debt in the first place? Don't you have even a tiny bit of self-awareness?!" the woman roared in fury.

Shu Mingyuan retreated in defeat, maintaining a silent stance.

Marguerite walked out of the house, looking quite pleased with herself.