"You damn wench, is this why I raised you?" A middle-aged man screamed in anger, slapping a girl that seemed to be in her teens. The slap was strong enough to imprint his palm on her cheek.

"Dad, I love him. Didn't you promise me before that you'll marry me to anyone I want?" The girl shed tears, clenching her cheek that had reddened, coursing a stinging sensation in her.

"Fool!" The middle-aged man bellowed. "He's a Ghost Appeaser. Do you know their job? It's to be possessed by a Nightmare and get killed. I won't allow my daughter to live as a widow for the rest of her life."

"But, can't you make an exception?" The girl begged him. "Our Su Clan has a lot of Ghost Appeasers. Won't the disappearance of one not even be noticed?"

"As if," the middle-aged man snorted as he replied. "A Ghost Appeaser is nurtured through a lot of resources, with their sole goal being to be killed by an Imperial Meister one day. That is their duty. Now, what do you think would happen if I married one of them? They'll develop hope that they too could have a family one day."

"It creates a precedent that would collapse our family's efforts." The middle-aged man then waved his hand. "Su Daiyu, this is my order. From now onwards, you are to forget about that Ghost Appeaser and live an honorable life. Find someone else to marry, whether a royal, a nobleman, or even a commoner. Anyone other than a Ghost Appeaser is fine."

'But he's the one I love.' Su Daiyu controlled her tears, biting her lips until they bled as she bowed and walked away.

On the night of the same day, a figure jumped into her courtyard, stealthily creeping into her room, arriving before the sleeping figure of Su Daiyu, muttering with a weak voice, gently caressing her cheek wound, "Su Daiyu"

Her hands grabbed hold of his as Su Daiyu turned around, sobbing as she said, "Get lost. Don't come here from today onwards. My father would kill you."

The man looked at his hands that she was clutching with the entirety of her strength, smiling wryly as he patted her head, saying gently, "Being killed is my honor. So, I've never feared death. Moreover, being with you fulfills my existence."

"Han" Su Daiyu gazed at him as tears welled up in her eyes before planting a kiss on him. She then pulled him into her quilt as the two joined together.

An hour later, the two lay beside one another as Su Daiyu spoke all of a sudden, "I've decided."

"Decided on what?" the man addressed as Han asked in confusion, his cheeks red, still reeling from the intense activity that he had never imagined would happen to him one day.

A Ghost Appeaser had no second name; neither were they registered in the family registry. They were like ghosts, their life and death unconcerned. So, he was only called Han. Whether that was actually his name or not, even he was unsure.

His older brother had been called Han before. And following his death, he was now addressed Han.

"Let's escape from here," Su Daiyu said.

"No." Han shook his head. "You have already been chosen by your Lord Su Zixin's Imperial Arms. So, you're the next Imperial Meister that would succeed him. Escaping is not an option. That's traitorous. I'll never allow you to bear such infamy."

"I'm not saying we'll make a break for it just like that." Su Daiyu smiled before taking out a scroll from a nearby drawer, opening it to reveal a mysterious diagram.

"This is" As Han looked at the scroll and read its contents, he was left flabbergasted. "This is the lost manual created by the Ghost Saint?"

The one addressed as a Ghost Saint was a legend in the Ghost Appeaser community. He was the first Ghost Appeaser that had created the means to generate more Ghost Appeasers. He was someone whose origins predated the Empire.

Though, information about his life and death was unclear. But before vanishing from the world, he had left behind two scrolls and a statement, "My second scroll is my lifetime's achievement."

The first scroll was called the Ghost Appeaser Scroll and formed the basis of creating Ghost Appeasers, allowing humans to possess the means to kill Nightmares efficiently.

As for the second scroll, it was lost in history, never being found out. Countless families had searched for it throughout the eras but failed to find it.

And now, such a scroll was in Su Daiyu's hands. Han looked at the words written at the top of the scroll, reading it aloud, "The Demon Manual?"

"Yes," Su Daiyu replied. "This information isn't available to the public or the aristocratic families. However, sealed at the bottom of the Imperial Palace is a Demon, one that had appeared before the Empire was even founded. It had been terrorizing the lands before the people joined hands and eventually founded our Daxia Empire."

She then stated solemnly, "And that Demon is the legendary Ghost Saint. After turning into a Demon himself, he created the second scroll."

"How did you find it?" Even now, even as he stared at the scroll, he was unable to believe it, for it was too much for him to handle emotionally. After all, the Ghost Saint was pretty much revered by the Ghost Appeasers. And now to stare at the scroll created by him

"In the Empire's ruins," she said, continuing, "The original Daxia Empire wasn't founded here. It was situated on a mountain within a forest. But as the number of people increased, they relocated here."

"But once, using exploration as an excuse, I sneaked into that forest and stumbled upon a grave in the ruins. When I dug it out, I found the scroll. It was pretty obvious that I wondered why no one managed to find it in the past," she said.

"Where is that forest located?" Han asked.

"To the north of the Empire."