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T/N: You guys are going to really like this one…..

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Huo Fenglie didn’t see Liu Zhenqing for several days. Because Liu Zhenqing was angry with him, even when he tried to seek him out through proper business, he was blocked on the other side of the tent by Liu Qiao and never even caught a glimpse of him.

He was clearly just next door, but Huo Fenglie’s thoughts were overflowing and his heart felt as if it was being roasted on an open flame. He didn’t understand Liu Zhenqing’s heart, so he was walking on thin ice to maintain the delicate relationship between them. He instinctively evaded the fearful thought that everything was a dream after all. A dream that would eventually end.

Unexpectedly, a subordinate reported that Liu Zhenqing had taken Liu Qiao and departed the military camp.

Huo Fenglie, who was handling military affairs, froze on the spot for a moment before disappearing into the camp.

He rushed out at an extremely fast speed, his black and white eyes gradually going bloodshot as the emotions in his heart went out of control.

If Liu Zhenqing really wanted to leave, to leave him, how could he keep this person?

Huo Fenglie could even feel the demons surging out of his heart, as well as the dark side of his mind pouring out uncontrollably.

Perhaps he should have tied that person up and locked him away so he couldn’t go anywhere. It didn’t matter even if he hated him, as long as he could keep him.

Never again did he want to think of those eight years in a cold abyss, unwilling to live and unable to die.

But as soon as he left the military camp, he could only tell the general direction Liu Zhenqing and Liu Qiao had gone. After running for a while with no one in sight, Huo Fenglie felt his heart plummet, and even the hidden tattoo seemed to be burning.

It would be easy to find Liu Zhenqing alone. But with Liu Qiao included, if they wanted to leave…..

Suddenly, a dark shadow flew across his field of vision. It was Liu Qiao.

Huo Fenglie quickly followed him. After running for who knew how long, he came upon a dense forest. The shadows of the trees in front of him continued to recede from his field of vision, and a bright light suddenly appeared in the dark night. When he passed through the last circle of trees, it was like a fantasy world.

There was a small lake surrounded by trees. Clear as a mirror, it reflected the beautiful starry sky, as if the stars had fallen into the lake. River lanterns of different shapes floated upon it, exuding a soft light that lent a glow to the stony, grassy shore.

Flowers that didn’t grow here were all over the place, and hundreds of red ribbons hung on the nearby trees, fluttering in the breeze. Lanterns were also dotted around, illuminating this magical world. It was as if he had strayed into some fairy’s cultivation spot.

Huo Fenglie was a little confused when he first laid eyes on this scene. Liu Qiao didn’t appear in his sight, and he quickly focused on the boat in the lake. There was someone on it.

Huo Fenglie rushed to the shore and saw the person he longed for emerge from the boat’s tent.

“Qing-ge…..” Huo Fenglie was stunned, and his eyes that had sunken into deep water finally lit up.

Although they hadn’t seen each other for only a few days, Huo Fenglie felt as if a lifetime had passed.

On the boat, aqua robes seemed to blend his slender form into the world where heaven and earth met. Liu Xiaozhu’s original appearance wasn’t superb, but with the addition of Liu Zhenqing’s personality, it became charming and elegant.

Perhaps beauty was in the eye of the beholder, because those originally round and harmless eyes presently turned into long, narrow peach blossoms, intelligent and refined. The slight hook to the edges of cherry-hued lips was wanton and romantic.

His features were picturesque, his temperament like jade, shining brightly like the moon and the stars.

Huo Fenglie could only stare blankly.

The night breeze ruffled Liu Zhenqing’s inky hair and lifted his robes slightly, tugging at Huo Fenglie’s heartstrings.

To Huo Fenglie, Liu Zhenqing was the most beautiful sight in the entire world. He saw him in his youth and could no longer part from him. He just wanted to guard him carefully and keep him exclusively, but almost lost him. 

Fortunately, he was right before his eyes.

Seeing Huo Fenglie stand there blankly, Liu Zhenqing curled a finger toward him.

Obedient as always, Huo Fenglie leaped over and landed before Liu Zhenqing, like a dog obeying his master’s command.

Liu Zhenqing gazed up at Huo Fenglie. The good-looking boy of the past had grown up to be handsome, tall, and dashing. He had to raise his head to get a good look at the reserved and restrained eyes under dark black lashes. The strands of love emanating from those eyes seemed about to become corporeal and wrap around him in circles.

Since who knew when, those eyes were filled with Liu Zhenqing and decorated with deep affection, always expressing love in places Liu Zhenqing wasn’t paying attention to.

After missing out on a lifetime and so many years, Liu Zhenqing didn’t want to waste any more time.

Huo Fenglie was somewhat at a loss with Liu Zhenqing looking at him like this. Just as he was about to open his mouth and apologize, Liu Zhenqing suddenly went down on one knee in front of him. 

Huo Fenglie was stunned.

Liu Zhenqing seldom knelt, whether in his past or present life, and even more so had never taken such a posture in front of Huo Fenglie. After all, Huo Fenglie had always been like a younger brother.

It was naturally impossible for Huo Fenglie to let Liu Zhenqing kneel for him. An uncomfortable feeling constricted his heart.

Huo Fenglie hurriedly tried to help him up, but Liu Zhenqing grabbed his outstretched hand first. Raising his head, he spoke gently with a soft smile on his face.

“Huo Fenglie, I, Liu Zhenqing, wish to get engaged to you and achieve a happy marriage. From then on, we will be together in life and in death, and grow old together hand-in-hand. Are you willing?”

As Liu Zhenqing spoke, he spread his other palm upward. Two silver-white rings lay in an exquisite box. The shape of the rings was unfamiliar, and they looked extremely delicate.

But Huo Fenglie didn’t react for a long time, just staring blankly at Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing tilted his head with a chuckle: “Huo Fenglie, what is your answer?”

Liu Zhenqing could feel a slight tremor in the hand he was holding.

When Huo Fenglie spoke, his voice was completely hoarse.

“Qing-ge…..don’t play such a joke on me, I’ll take it seriously. If I take it seriously…..Qing-ge, you can’t afford it. Do you want to do something? Do you have any odd plans? You told me to answer you, but…..don’t make such a joke.”

Huo Fenglie’s voice seemed to be magnified by the night wind, with a deep vibrato.

But this time Liu Zhenqing didn’t retreat, nor did he become angry.

He firmly believed that Huo Fenglie loved him. Even if Huo Fenglie didn’t love him, he had decided to have Huo Fenglie, and he would never let go of the person he had fallen in love with. What’s more, he believed that Huo Fenglie had him and only him in his heart.

So when he witnessed Huo Fenglie’s reaction, he only felt distressed for him.

He couldn’t understand why Huo Fenglie was so lacking in confidence.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Zhenqing maintained his smile and said: “I do have something I want to do, and I do have a plan.”

Huo Fenglie was taken aback. The nervousness on his face turned to blankness, then to an ugly smile. He was about to withdraw his hand, but found that Liu Zhenqing was still holding onto it tightly.

“Qing-ge…..”

“I plan to propose marriage first, then when you agree, I’ll write the marriage contract. When we return to the capital, I’ll ask Li Xingruo to go to Liu Manor and propose the match. I really do want to marry you. After all, your brother promised you to me back then. I didn’t refuse. If the manor is still there, I will definitely take you into my home. But now that I think about it, we might as well forget about you marrying into the Liu family. I’ll suffer a small loss and join your general’s residence as a wife. I want to do something big for this special event and let the whole world know that you, General Huo, are marrying me.”

“If you stay in the capital in the future, I’ll stay in your General’s Manor. If you go to the battlefield, I’ll accompany you as your military advisor. No matter what, we cannot be separated. As for children, it’s fine not to have them, or we can adopt one. In any case, the Huo family already has the twins. If Li Xingruo isn’t able to take care of the children, we can do it.”

As Liu Zhenqing babbled on about their bright future, he saw Huo Fenglie’s expression change. His pupils gradually quivered, and even his body became extremely tense.

Liu Zhenqing chuckled and said: “Huo Fenglie, do you understand? I want to marry you for no purpose or plan or any other reason. Only because my heart has been moved by you. I like you, I love you, I adore you, and I want to be with you forever.”

Huo Fenglie was trembling all over. When he heard these words, his blood surged and he almost lost his mind.

Liu Zhenqing released Huo Fenglie’s hand and took out the larger ring.

“I made the rings myself these past few days. I’m not very good at it, and I didn’t make them well. I’ve had many jade willow leaf pendants and given them to many people, so they’re not worthy of my precious Er-gou. But there is only one pair of these rings in the world. There is a different name for them – wedding rings. You know I’m not from this world. This is a custom in my family. Giving them to each other confirms the engagement, pairing us for life. This is my exclusive gift to you.”

Liu Zhenqing took Huo Fenglie’s hand again and touched his ring finger, caressing it gently: “Put it on, and you’ll be mine. If you want to refuse, just take your hand back.”

Liu Zhenqing didn’t look at Huo Fenglie, and just stared intently at his hand. Slowly, slowly, he piously placed the ring on his finger.

When the ring was securely on his tense hand, Liu Zhenqing finally breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up. Huo Fenglie’s face was stiff, but tears were sliding uncontrollably down that resolute face. Liu Zhenqing could even hear his choked breathing.

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes stung. He actually had the urge to cry. He handed the other ring to Huo Fenglie and stood up, placing his hand in front of him. “You’ve agreed, so now it’s your turn to put it on me.”

Huo Fenglie spoke at last, his voice calm but tearful as he regarded Liu Zhenqing with dark eyes.

“You’re serious?”

“Of course!” Liu Zhenqing nodded. “And you?”

“I…..I like you, Qing-ge, I like you. That hasn’t changed since long ago. You’re obviously aware.” Huo Fenglie’s tone seemed a little aggrieved.

“Yes.” Liu Zhenqing smiled. “Then you refused to confess and made me think you didn’t like me.”

“I was afraid…..afraid that if you knew I still coveted you, you wouldn’t want me anymore.”

“How could you think that? I’m glad you covet me, ah.” Liu Zhenqing was amused. Sure enough, this kid had an inexplicable inferiority complex. Perhaps it was because he had always regarded him as a little brother, and there were so many rumors of his romance with girls, that Huo Fenglie was so unsure of himself.

Huo Fenglie finally opened his mouth to say: “I’m still scared now. But if you have second thoughts, it’s no use. It was you who first…..you who first…..”

Huo Fenglie seemed angry. His eyelashes trembled and he practically gritted his teeth. Grabbing Liu Zhenqing’s hand with irresistible strength, he put the ring on his finger.

The moment his fingers were restrained, Liu Zhenqing felt his heart tremble. It was as if he had finally landed on solid ground, as if their lives together hadn’t been stable until this exact moment. It felt so amazing.

This proved that he had a real connection and really belonged in this world.

Huo Fenglie, on the other hand, stared at the matching rings on his and Liu Zhenqing’s hands in a daze.

He and Qing-ge really…..

When he was young, he was passionate and daring, and only wanted to grow up soon. Standing next to his loved one, he knew Liu Zhenqing already had somebody in his heart, so he could only silently withdraw, hoping to call him ‘Qing-ge’ once in a while.

But then Qing-ge died. 

He went crazy, grasping at illusionary hope and using his own way to protect everything Qing-ge cared about, waiting for him almost hopelessly. 

Later, Qing-ge came back. Nobody else knew, and Qing-ge didn’t want anyone to know either. He just wanted to escape without even telling the people he cared about before. Huo Fenglie ranked behind many people in Qing-ge’s heart, and could only do his utmost to keep him. 

Until now, he never expected Qing-ge to respond to his feelings, because he felt that Qing-ge wouldn’t change his mind.

He thought that all the intimate times they’d shared before were just casual fun after Qing-ge expanded his horizons.

But he had never imagined that his dream would one day come true. 

Qing-ge actually wanted him.

“Fenglie…..”

Liu Zhenqing’s voice instantly snapped Huo Fenglie out of his daze. When he looked up, Qing-ge was right in front of him with a smile on his face.

And a second later, Liu Zhenqing placed his arms around Huo Fenglie’s neck.

This time, Huo Fenglie finally stopped holding himself back and took the first step into the other’s arms. Their passionate kiss allowed him to vent his explosive emotions. 

It seemed like it wasn’t just their bodies that were close, but their souls as well.

Huo Fenglie’s tears still slipped down to the junction of their lips, but neither of them stopped.

It was all so sweet and addictive.

When they returned to their senses, the two of them had been lying entangled on the boat for a while. Their clothes were a mess, and they almost couldn’t control themselves. 

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing infatuatedly. Light flowed in his eyes, astonishingly bright, his newfound emotions impossible to conceal. There was a blush on his cheeks, giving him the appearance of a shy youth. 

And Liu Zhenqing’s eyes were a little out of focus, as soft as a sheen of mist. His rosy, swollen lips were as delicate as flowers ripe for the picking. The beauty and passion his features conveyed made a person’s heart bound.

Huo Fenglie’s body stiffened, and his voice came out a little thick: “Qing-ge…..”

Liu Zhenqing relaxed a bit, his cheeks turning red. Under the trees and sky…..was also pretty good. In any case, Liu Qiao was standing guard outside.

Just as he was thinking, he saw Huo Fenglie raise his hands to reach for his clothes.

Liu Zhenqing planned to feign shyness, but as a result, Huo Fenglie helped him gather together his slightly messed up robes. “Qing-ge, should we go back?”

Liu Zhenqing: Er-gou is good everywhere, but he’s a bit conservative.

It seemed he would have to take the initiative himself. Sneaking into Huo Fenglie’s arms, he instantly took action. Huo Fenglie trembled all over: “Qing…..qing-ge…..”

“Are you sure you can go back like this?” Liu Zhenqing’s eyes were charming and silky. He leaned toward Huo Fenglie’s ear with a smile and said, “Aren’t you a master? You should know that no one is nearby, and Liu Qiao won’t peek or eavesdrop. It wasn’t easy to find our happiness together. Won’t you exercise your rights?”

Huo Fenglie naturally understood what Liu Zhenqing was implying. He gulped: “This place is crude. I would wrong Qing-ge.”

“Then it’s good I don’t dislike it.” Liu Zhenqing chuckled, his voice like the wind, trying to blow a certain person’s heart into a mess.

But not to mention his other advantages, his self-control was outstanding: “No, the night breeze is cold, and it’s even colder on the lake. Qing-ge’s body is weak.”

Liu Zhenqing didn’t want to move. The scenery was beautiful, and it was the place he had proposed. Why not create another good memory here? He’d spent so much time setting up the scene, after all.

He even brought medicine…..yes, medicine.

Liu Zhenqing reached out to grab the package in the corner of the boat. Then he took out a pill, held it in his mouth, and fed it to Huo Fenglie.

Huo Fenglie swallowed without resisting. After a moment of surprise, he asked: “What was it?”

Liu Zhenqing sat up with Huo Fenglie in hand and looked at him with a smile.

Huo Fenglie was a little confused at first, but then his body began to heat up and his originally excited body went full meltdown. He looked at Liu Zhenqing in disbelief.

“Qing-ge, you…..”

“Don’t worry, that pill just has a minor boosting effect. It can make someone honest and unrestrained, but the main effect is to heat the body. Fenglie, I want to see your tattoo.”

Huo Fenglie was startled. “You…..”

“I’ve heard all about it. It was tattooed using my ashes. Let me see it.”

Uneasiness flashed across Huo Fenglie’s face. It was as if he’d done something bad and gotten caught, or as if a hidden secret had been discovered.

It was true that his body was extremely hot, and at this temperature, the tattoo would soon appear. Seeing Liu Zhenqing’s serious expression, Huo Fenglie finally nodded.

Without a pause, Huo Fenglie took off his clothes.

Liu Zhenqing had already raised his hand. It was just like unwrapping a package, peeling off layer after layer until a strong, upright body appeared in front of him. With his unusual temperature, the scars on his body seemed to turn red.

Suddenly, a layer of green began to emerge, the pattern gradually becoming clearer.

Liu Zhenqing’s pupils began to quiver.

He saw willow leaves and branches start to grow from the near-fatal wound over Huo Fenglie’s heart. Like a huge dragon wrapping around his body, it coiled up over and over, gradually covering his scars, large and small. Some of the old injuries were almost concealed by dark green willow leaves, protecting Huo Fenglie’s injured body like armor.

Liu Zhenqing was even more shocked by the tattoo that he’d thought he would be.

Huo Fenglie had used a tattoo made of his ashes to cover all the old wounds on his body, as if he was protecting his Er-gou.

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but reach out to touch the willow leaves, to rest his forehead against them. Feeling the scorching heat below, his heart felt warm and tingly, as if magma was flowing through it.

“Fenglie…..it seems I didn’t protect you well. You still suffered a lot of injuries afterward.”

The tattoo offered no protection. New scars wreaked havoc outside the range of the tattoo.

Liu Zhenqing could only embrace Huo Fenglie.

Huo Fenglie hugged him back, saying softly: “No, Qing-ge must have protected me so that I could wait for you to come to life.”

No matter how many times he was injured on the battlefield, he actually had no will to survive, but still survived to the end. Others said his fate let him survive in adversity, but now that he thought about it, perhaps the gods prevented him from leaving because Qing-ge was coming back.

Liu Zhenqing was so moved that he couldn’t help but place a kiss on the beginning of the tattoo over his heart.

The other’s body shivered slightly under his kiss. A muffled moan brought the two of them back to the present.

Liu Zhenqing stared for a moment, and then his lips curved into a wicked grin.

He took some medicine and removed his clothes.

If he didn’t eat Er-gou tonight, he would feel sorry for himself.

“Fenglie, let’s not go back, okay? I want you,” Liu Zhenqing said softly, raising his head to look at him with watery eyes. Huo Fenglie couldn’t bear it.

His eyes darkened and he embraced Liu Zhenqing tightly, pressing him down.

The boat began to rock gently on the lake. After some period of time, a hand reached into the lake to wash away the heat.

Liu Zhenqing was dazed for a while, then looked over with dissatisfaction at the person who was neatly dressed while holding him in his arms.

After two rounds, his body was already limp and powerless, but Liu Zhenqing was very dissatisfied, very dissatisfied.

He hadn’t even taken off his pants! No fun at all, ah! At most, compared to before, this time Huo Fenglie was the one in control…..he’d thought this was the prelude, but the prelude was played twice and the song immediately finished.

“Er-gou, are you incapable of doing this?! I even gave you medicine,” Liu Zhenqing asked directly, his expression cold. “If you can’t do it, I will!”

He Chuzhou immediately froze. His neck reddened with embarrassment and he said awkwardly: “Qing-ge, I can force out that type of medicine with my internal strength. You’ve forgotten.”

Liu Zhenqing narrowed his eyes at him.

Huo Fenglie lowered his head and admitted his wrongdoing: “It’s not that I didn’t want to.”

“What is this? Don’t tell me that you need time to accept a man now, Laozi took time.” Liu Zhenqing said a bit irritably.

“We…..we’re still not married yet, so it’s not appropriate…..”

Liu Zhenqing: …..

Damnit! Who taught you to be so conservative? It must have been Huo Feihan!

Laozi’s happiness!

Huo Fenglie had come up with such an excuse. Liu Zhenqing didn’t know what to say, but he really couldn’t do it tonight. Next time. Next time, he would persist.

Huo Fenglie hugged him and kissed him from his forehead to his lips, sticky and sweet, like a treasure he had just obtained and couldn’t put down.

Liu Zhenqing was also satisfied with such tenderness. He stopped being unhappy and responded gently and softly.

After a while, Liu Zhenqing began to settle accounts: “I asked you to marry me before. Why did you reject me? Did you think I wasn’t serious and was just playing a prank on you?”

Huo Fenglie stiffened. With a helpless chuckle, he said: “I was stupid. I thought you wanted me to get engaged to someone else.”

“Ah?” Liu Zhenqing was baffled. “That’s impossible no matter how you think about it. How could I give you to someone else, ah? I’ve been in your arms, what’s wrong with your head?”

Huo Fenglie kissed Liu Zhenqing again in a soft apology until Liu Zhenqing’s legs went weak.

“En, I was stupid. Qing-ge should punish me.”

“You stinky brat, you refuse to get down to business, then deliberately invite me…..”

“Then I’ll be with Qing-ge one more time.”

“Who cares about this kind of being together…..ah…..you…..stupid dog!”

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T/N: Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone! Now that the festivities are over, I should have a lot more time to translate!

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Consider donating via Kofi here!

Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Two << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Four

“Li Xiu, are you trying to anger me to death—”

The vehicle slowly began to move as Teacher Xu drove.

The first thing to sound in the slightly shaking vehicle was the roar of the former school bully: “That was a ghost, okay? You still recklessly let that thing brainwash you? Have you used up all your IQ solving math problems?!”

Fang Qian’an stared, eyes wide, at the youth on the seat corner who was silently biting his lip. One of Fang Qian’an’s hands was still holding the other boy’s wrist, which was so thin that it seemed as if it would break.

Li Xiu felt a stabbing pain spreading from his sternum, as if there was an invisible person on his chest. The 1.9 meter tall boy himself was still unknowingly shaking due to excessive tension. 

Only Fang Qian’an himself knew how terrified he was.

They had obviously been so close…..

He had obviously sworn that he would protect Li Xiu through the thick fog no matter what.

But when they arrived at Teacher Xu’s car and were about to get in, he felt Li Xiu’s hand slip out of his palm like a fish.

No matter how he called Li Xiu’s name, the youth continued to turn a deaf ear and walk quickly into the depths of the fog.

Even now, Fang Qian’an could feel his heart beating wildly. Half of his soul still hadn’t been recovered.

“…..We’ve been through this before, but you didn’t even raise your guard! That thing used your grandmother’s appearance to confuse you, and you stupidly followed it! I always wondered who could be so stupid in those horror movies, but that person is right next to me!”

Li Xiu lowered his head and said in a choked voice: “But it was Grandmother…..”

“That thing turned your grandmother into a zombie! You saw it yourself!”

Fang Qian’an’s voice suddenly rose, and he shouted fiercely at Li Xiu: “How about you wake up a little!”

“I’m awake!” Li Xiu shouted at Fang Qian’an. He raised his head, tears streaming down his face. “I know it was Lord Hong in disguise and I shouldn’t have been deceived, but…..I’ll never see my grandmother again! My grandmother is dead!”

When Li Xiu heard news of his grandmother’s death in his hospital bed, he could barely maintain his outward composure, and didn’t start crying until the others left.

Now, Li Xiu could no longer control himself, and wailed loudly in front of Fang Qian’an.

“My grandmother is head. Don’t you understand that I don’t have a grandmother anymore…..wuwuwu…..why did you scold me so loudly? I know I was stupid, but…..that was my last chance to see Grandmother…..”

Fang Qian’an, who was yelling at Li Xiu one second, was utterly panicked the next.

“You…..you went too far and made me cry…..”

In a fluster, he looked into Li Xiu’s reddened eyes, wet with tears, and froze.

“S-Sorry!” 

A moment later, the former school bully began to stammer out an apology: “Hey, d-don’t cry…..just now, I…..that is, I was just so worried. That’s why I spoke loudly, I didn’t mean to scold you…..pei, actually, I’m angry with myself…..”

Fang Qian’an was alarmed by Li Xiu’s sobbing.

He wanted to wipe away Li Xiu’s tears, but couldn’t find a tissue for a long time.

He subconsciously started to pull up the hem of his T-shirt, but as soon as he raised his hand, he put the shirt back down again — his clothes were stained with ash and blood from their escape, and looked so bad that he was reluctant to wipe Li Xiu’s face with it.

“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. Please don’t cry.”

In the end, Fang Qian’an had to gently wipe Li Xiu’s tears away with his fingertips. His palms were wet with the youth’s tears, and the heat of them made his chest ache. 

It was Teacher Xu who smoothed things over.

He gestured for Qiao Yang to find a few packages of napkins in the storage compartment and hand them to the two high school boys behind them. Once Li Xiu had calmed down somewhat, Teacher Xu coughed a few times and said: “Cough, Classmate Fang, who are you to say anything about Classmate Li Xiu? Do you think you’re so great? Rushing out like you did, we were scared to death.”

“Indeed.” Qiao Yang couldn’t help but say, “You didn’t even listen when I called out to you. Li Xiu didn’t see it, but you also rushed out. If not for good luck, we might have all gone out and fallen one by one—”

Li Xiu’s eyes were still red as he blew his nose. When he heard what Teacher Xu and Qiao Yang said, he glanced at Fang Qian’an.

Fang Qian’an scratched the back of his head in discomfort, and his voice was pitifully weak as he defended himself: “I…..I was in a hurry, so I didn’t think.”

Teacher Xu and Qiao Yang said nothing to this. The car grew silent.

Li Xiu lowered his head and held back his tears.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s alright.” This time, it was Teacher Xu who responded. “Ghosts can confuse the eyes and captivate the mind. These things always target the weaknesses in people’s hearts. Classmate Li Xiu, you’ve done well. If it were an ordinary student, they would have been too frightened to move if something like tonight happened.”

Qiao Yang concurred: “Yes, ah. I’ve never seen anything like what happened tonight. Even in foreign zombie movies—”

It was better not to mention it. When he brought up what had happened that night, everyone’s moods became heavy again. The night fog was still thick outside the windows. The four of them were not completely out of danger.

Li Xiu calmed down and asked in a hoarse voice: “Teacher Xu, what should we do next?”

Teacher Xu clicked on his phone to set the navigation.

The voice navigation overlapped with his reply: “…..The City A Martyrs Cemetery is near here. We’ll go there first.”

[“Ready to start. The route is 2.5 kilometers and will take around seven minutes. After thirty meters, turn right—”]

“Ah?”

“Martyrs Cemetery?”

“Teacher, wait, a cemetery?”

The other three people in the vehicle were a little dumbfounded.

Only Teacher Xu still appeared calm: “En, a cemetery…..the Martyrs Cemetery is full of revolutionary martyrs. These martyrs are extremely heroic, and are the best at restraining evil spirits. They should be able to protect us for one night.”

After hearing Teacher Xu’s explanation, the three others finally breathed sighs of relief.

The Martyrs Cemetery in City A was actually an upscale public park, so it really wasn’t that far from the building where Fang Qian’an lived. If not for special circumstances, with Fang Qian’an’s strength, he could get there in less than ten minutes even while carrying Li Xiu on his back. But they were driving—-

However, as time passed little by little, they still failed to reach their destination that was right around the corner.

“Teacher…..is the car starting to drive slower?”

Qiao Yang, sitting in the passenger seat, had a bit of cold sweat on his forehead.

He glanced at the dashboard and found that the car was going 60.

However, he didn’t know whether it was only the fog outside the window that gave no reference for their forward movement. Seated in the car, he only felt that the vehicle had slowed to a stop.

“Teacher?”

“It’s alright. This is just a method to disturb people’s hearts. Don’t be afraid,” Teacher Xu said word by word.

But before he could finish speaking, the car’s radio, which had been collecting dust for who knew how long, suddenly buzzed.

“Zizizi…..for you tonight…..zizizizizi…..we have City A’s overnight weather forecast…..zizi…..Sleepless Night Talk Radio…..will you come tonight…..”

A noisy radio station and snippets of songs that were no longer popular mixed with the harsh electric sounds. The bizarre noise lingered in the vehicle, startling everyone but Teacher Xu into looks of fear.

Because they all heard the hoarse whisper within that electric noise that was impossible to ignore.

[“A-Xiu…..”]

[“Come, follow me…..”]

[“My A-Xiu, ah, why are you crying so sadly?”]

[“I will kill them all, okay?”]

There was a click.

The expressionless Teacher Xu had reached out to turn off the radio.

It was unknown what method he used, but there was a small spot of blood on the dial.

And the disobedient radio finally stopped blaring.

But this short term peace didn’t last long at all.

Because in the next seconds, cell phone ring tones sounded one after another inside the car.

The phones automatically connected.

An elderly voice came from the receiver.

[“A-Xiu, ah, it’s so late. Why haven’t you come back home, ah…..”]

It was his grandmother.

“A-Xiu, be good. Come home.”

As if there was interference, the elderly whisper was eerily drawn out.

“Your gege is hungry…..”

“Hee…..A-Xiu…..it’s time to come home…..time to give your gege something to eat…..”

The voice gradually changed in pitch.

Sometimes it sounded like the voice of an old woman, and sometimes it sounded like the hushed whisper of a young man.

Little by little, an unspeakable chill spread inside the car along with the sound.

Li Xiu felt his body tremble involuntarily, and everything before his eyes was out of focus.

In his daze, he could even feel that there seemed to be a pair of cold hands stroking his neck.

His hair immediately stood on end. He felt nauseous. 

Grasping the steering wheel with both hands, Teacher Xu stared ahead of the car and said word by word: “Everyone smash their phones.”

Qiao Yang was holding a cell phone he had just bought, and was stunned upon hearing his teacher’s words. But without waiting for him to finish comprehending, a hand reached out from teh back seat and snatched his phone.

“Huh? Ah, ah—”

Fang Qian’an was expressionless as he held everyone’s cell phones in his hands. As easily as breaking a chocolate bar, he snapped each phone.

“I’m still making installments on that phone, ah!”

Qiao Yang held the remnants of his phone after Fang Qian’an tossed it back to him, his expression even uglier than when he had been frightened by ghosts previously.

“The new model is being released next month,” Fang Qian’an informed him with zero sympathy, then turned to look at the silent Li Xiu: “Do you like the style of the Xueli ProMax?”

Li Xiu was still staring at his disabled phone in a daze and didn’t react right away.

“Ah?”

Fang Qian’an took a deep breath and smiled at the boy next to him: “When this is all over, I’ll give you a new cellphone. Your crappy one should have been replaced a long time ago.”

After speaking, he reached out and rubbed Li Xiu’s hair vigorously.

“Don’t refuse. I’m older than you, you should call me ‘ge’. As your ge, I should buy a phone for my didi.”

Before he could finish his sentence, the car shook violently. Everyone jerked forward simultaneously and were then slammed back into their seats by the seatbelts. Their chests hurt.

“Damn—” Teacher Xu cursed.

The car had stalled.

A thick fog tightly enveloped the stationary vehicle.

Without the roar of the engine, their surroundings became eerily silent.

Ding-ling—

The copper bell hanging in the upper left corner suddenly gave a soft jingle.

Li Xiu subconsciously shrank toward Fang Qian’an. He still remembered Qiao Yang’s explanation that the copper bell hanging in the car cabin would only ring when it sensed yin energy.

He couldn’t help but look out the window again. There was still only the thick fog, seemingly no different from before.

Ding-ling—

But in the next second, the bell rang again, this time a bit more urgently than before.

Ding-ling—

Ding-ling—

Ding-ling—

Just as Li Xiu was thinking about this, the copper bells hanging at all four corners of the cabin jingled in unison. Teacher Xu in the driver’s seat frowned with increasing tension. His originally very pale face seemed to have lost all color, and his lips had even turned grey. 

Accompanied by the deafening jingle of the copper bells, within the fog that was so thick that a person couldn’t even see their fingers, many rigid shadows appeared.

Just like that, bit by bit, those vague shadows gathered toward the only bright light in the thick fog. And right next to Teacher Xu’s hand, the old Nokia phone that was bent into a ‘V’ suddenly gave a navigation announcement.

[“Ready to start…..zizi…..the route is 2.5 kilometers…..zizi…..will take around seven minutes. After thirty meters, turn right—”].

Everyone in the car stiffened at once.

After driving for so long, the navigation had never changed.

They had been in the same place all along.

---

The Author Has Something to Say: 

Xiao Fang: I can buy a new cellphone for A-Xiu. Heh, unlike some people (ghosts), who can’t offer anything except fear (yin and yang). (Smile).

---

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Chapter 53 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 55

City A got foggy at night occasionally, but never in his life had Li Xiu seen fog like this.

Looking outside through the building’s floor-to-ceiling windows, all that could be seen was endless drifting white.

Qiao Yang tugged the glass door tentatively. There was only a small gap, but a layer of white fog could be seen slowly flowing inside like a living thing, drifting endlessly on the marble floor.

When the fog touched one’s skin, it brought with it an indescribable chill.

Qiao Yang’s hand shook, and he immediately closed the door.

Everyone’s expressions became extremely ugly. After experiencing so much, they weren’t foolish enough to regard such nighttime fog as an ordinary phenomenon. Qiao Yang took out his cell phone and dialed 110, but it was a brick in his hand, without any cell service at all.

The young man put the phone back in his pocket and grabbed his hair, asking: “Teacher Xu, what should we do next?”

Teacher Xu was chanting something, but something in the dark seemed to have heard Li Xiu’s question. The moment he finished speaking, there was another dull crashing sound from the security door not far behind them.

They all turned their heads, only to find the thick door shaking precariously.

No one dared to think about what was behind the security door.

Teacher Xu took a deep breath.

The older man said in a deep voice: “We definitely can’t stay here. We need to get to the car. There are still some things inside it that can suppress evil.”

Fortunately, the car had been parked in front of the building when they arrived. Now, they only had to rush down a long staircase to get to it.

Teacher Xu said: “Even if a ghost is muddling our perception, we can still reach it from such a short distance with our eyes closed.” 

In the next second, a clearly audible electronic sound came through the white fog, and the car’s headlights could be faintly seen as they turned on.

The car was indeed not far. When they realized this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. When its location was confirmed, Teacher Xu instructed everyone to hold hands. Then he took the lead and pushed open the door, leading the others to the car through the fog.

Everything was fine for the first two steps.

But in the next second, the thick, cold fog, like a wet hand reaching out from the darkness, suddenly stuck to Li Xiu’s face.

Li Xiu never knew that fog could be so thick. Intense moisture struck him, catching him off guard. He felt as if he was drowning, his mouth and nose filling with cold liquid.

He coughed uncontrollably.

And as he endured the tightness in his chest and suppressed his coughing, he found that his hands were already empty.

Qiao Yang and Fang Qian’an, whose hands he was holding, had vanished.

There was only the lingering fog around him.

Endless fog.

It was as if a cold finger was slowly stirring up his stomach. When he found that he was alone, Li Xiu immediately stopped breathing and was so frightened that he almost retched.

Terrified, Li Xiu called in a whisper: “Teacher Xu? Fang Qian’an? Qiao Yang?”

Fortunately, as soon as he called out, a clear voice sounded from nearby: “Damn, this way, Li Xiu! Come over here!” 

As if to direct him, the car lights came on in front of him to the left.

Not daring to delay, Li Xiu hurried in that direction. 

“Teacher Xu, I—”

After only two steps, the yellow lights were already close at hand.

However, Li Xiu stopped abruptly.

Cold sweat soaked the youth’s back as he stared in the direction of the lights in disbelief.

That wasn’t Teacher Xu’s old Honda at all, but instead…..

There was an emaciated old woman holding a flashlight.

It was his grandmother.

His grandmother held up the flashlight and the yellow beam of light shone directly upon Li Xiu.

Li Xiu’s heart beat wildly. He didn’t even dare to blink, and could only stare blankly at that familiar face.

He could clearly feel the wetness on his face, but he could no longer tell if it was because of the fog or if he was crying again, weak and helpless. 

“Grandmother,” Li Xiu called in a choked voice. “Don’t scare me, okay?”

“…..I’m so scared.”

In such thick fog, his grandmother’s form was extremely distinct. Completely different from the ugly and deformed reanimated corpse he had seen before, his grandmother was currently closer to the old woman in his memory.

She was even slightly younger than the last time he had seen her alive.

Li Xiu clearly remembered that at that time, they had just moved into the shantytown in the city.

For a young child, the intricate alleys of the shantytown were incredibly long, with no street lights or signs. If one wasn’t careful, they could get lost.

And when he moved there, it happened to be winter. With a mere moment’s delay, it would be dark.

If Li Xiu took one wrong step, he would be greeted by terrifying darkness.

The most unfortunate thing was that he and his grandmother were new arrivals. Moreover, Li Xiu’s lame foot was very obvious. In the shantytown, children who lacked parental education would deliberately mock Li Xiu. Sometimes, they would even release their dogs to chase Li Xiu so that they could watch him cry and fall down as he ran.

When that happened once, Li Xiu went home with a high fever.

The first day he returned to school after recovering from a serious illness, he was fine during the day, but when he was about to head home after school, it felt like his feet were too heavy for him to move forward.

Just as he was terrified, thinking that he would have to walk down those long alleys alone again, he saw an elderly figure at the alley’s entrance. It was his grandmother.

In the early winter dusk, this old woman, who was hardly amiable on a typical day, carried a flashlight with shaky hands and stood guard at the mouth of the alley, waiting silently in the cold wind for Li Xiu to return from school.

Unlike other older people, she didn’t make a big show of affection, but just gave a slight nod and motioned for Li Xiu to follow her.

Li Xiu’s grandmother was always taciturn in front of him. Apart from urging Li Xiu to deliver food to his gege, she barely communicated with him.

However, at that moment, Li Xiu clearly felt his grandmother’s silent doting.

In such a way, after picking up and dropping off Li Xiu for a semester, the young child finally adapted to the alleyways in the shantytown.

Moreover, the dogs that once chased him died, and for some unknown reason, the wicked children in the shantytown also moved out of the area one by one.

Li Xiu was no longer afraid of going home alone, and his grandmother never picked him up again.

And now, Li Xiu once again saw the old woman holding an old-fashioned flashlight, silently standing guard in an alley to take him home.

He heard his grandmother murmur to him: “A-Xiu, ah…..”

The old woman’s face was still pallid, but her expression was one of sadness. 

“Don’t be afraid, Grandma doesn’t want this…..”

“How could Grandma hurt you?”

As she spoke, he lurched one step forward.

Li Xiu unconsciously stepped back, the tearful tone in his voice intensifying.

“Don’t come over here!” Li Xiu shouted, but his voice was extremely weak.

Unexpectedly, his grandmother actually stopped.

The old woman watched Li Xiu with all her attention, tears streaming from her cloudy eyes.

“Grandma never wanted to scare you. Grandma just doesn’t want to let you go…..” The old woman said mournfully, “You’re still so young, and have no mother or father. How could Grandma be willing to leave you alone in this world…..my A-Xiu, ah, you’re so pitiful, Grandma can’t bear it!”

Li Xiu violently gasped for breath.

Every whisper from his grandmother was like a knife piercing his heart.

Yes, ah, what should he do?

Could he really live a good life all alone?

After hearing the news of his grandmother’s death, this thought had been lingering in the depths of Li Xiu’s mind.

“Come, A-Xiu, come with Grandma. Grandma will protect you. With Grandma here, it’s better than you continuing to remain alone in this world…..”

Li Xiu’s grandmother raised her hand toward him again. For a moment, he seemed to have lost control of his body.

He couldn’t help but take a step in her direction. If he followed his grandmother, he wouldn’t have to be alone anymore, right?

In the next second, a strong force came from behind Li Xiu.

It was like being hit by a bull. Before Li Xiu could react, something slammed directly into his shoulder.

He only had time to let out a brief scream.

“A-Xiu, what are you doing now! Fucking look closer, that’s not your grandmother at all!”

A familiar voice exploded in his ears, and Li Xiu gasped. He looked intently and realized that where his grandmother was standing, there was clearly a tall, slender, thin-limbed monster with a bright red body.

The figure’s head was concealed by a familiar paper mask.

It still had its hand raised, its dark eye sockets looking at Li Xiu blankly. It was extremely bizarre.

“…..And why would you be alone? You still have me!” Fang Qian’an yelled while running away with Li Xiu on his back.

A few steps later, Li Xiu belatedly heard the roar of a car engine within the white fog.

With the faint, rapid chanting of a mantra, a breeze arose out of nowhere and blew away the fog around Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an.

The youth looked up again and realized that Teacher Xu’s car was right next to them. Teacher Xu was already sitting in the driver’s seat. The man rolled down the window and shouted at them: “Quickly, get in the car—”

Without delay, Fang Qian’an opened the door and threw Li Xiu inside, then rushed inside and slammed the door.

The dispersed fog gathered again as soon as the door closed, seeming to have a life of its own as it was stuck outside the vehicle.

Accompanied by a surge of wind, blurry faces appeared one after another in the fog, peering through the car window at the people inside.

---

The Author Has Something to Say: 

Who is knocking on your window~

Dog Qian’an is gradually walking into Li Xiu’s heart.

Gege: Everything is going as planned.

---

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Chapter 52 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 54

When the first glimmers of light appeared on the horizon, Liu Zhenqing had only taken a short nap before he was woken up.

As a result, he was still lying in Huo Fenglie’s arms when he opened his eyes.

Liu Zhenqing moved, and Huo Fenglie also opened his eyes. That pair of misty eyes stared at him blankly, then seemed to focus in a flash. He instinctively increased the force of his arms, wanting to hug this person tighter to make sure he existed.

Liu Zhenqing wrinkled his nose: “What are you doing hugging me?”

After talking business the day before, Liu Zhenqing still didn’t forget how angry he should be and slept alone on one side.

With innocent eyes, Huo Fenglie looked down at where Liu Zhenqing was laying.

Only then did Liu Zhenqing realize he was the one who’d rolled over, and according to his sleeping habits…..

Unreconciled, Liu Zhenqing pushed Huo Fenglie away and said unreasonably: “You hugged me when I rolled over here?”

Huo Fenglie looked a little childlike as he bore Liu Zhenqing’s temper.

Just as trouble was about to start, they heard a sound nearby. Beside the stream, Qiao Jin was pestering Liu Qiao and still trying to persuade him. Liu Qiao seemed annoyed to death by him.

The night before, Liu Zhenqing had proposed that Qiao Jin remain here as the King of Western Shu in order to cooperate with them, but Liu Qiao would definitely follow Liu Zhenqing, which would separate the two of them.

This went against Qiao Jin’s original intentions regarding the compromise, so he naturally refused to agree.

“Didn’t Master say I would be responsible for delivering messages?”

“Then if you’re delivering messages, can’t you just stay here and deliver them to him? Why should you follow him, ah? Aren’t he and Huo Fenglie a couple now? With Huo Fenglie’s army of millions, how is he unable to protect him? And when they return to the capital, you’ll follow them back. You…..You’re just looking for an excuse to abandon me,” Qiao Jin said, utterly discomfited.

“Why are you like a little milk baby? You’re the King of Western Shu now. Master says that when they find those people in the capital, you can always be the king, okay?”

Liu Qiao couldn’t understand Qiao Jin’s reaction. He felt that he was the same kid who feared being left behind, but he was already eighteen years old. He couldn’t bring Qiao Jin with him forever.

Qiao Jin flew into a foolish temper at Liu Qiao’s words: “Who wants to be the King of Western Shu, ah!”

“If you don’t care about it, then you don’t have to do it until this matter is over.”

Qiao Jin was anxious: “Do you really not understand or are you pretending not to understand? What did I surrender and listen to Liu Zhenqing for?”

“Weren’t you going to be killed by Master if you disobeyed?”

“That’s not it! Since Liu Zhenqing has given you freedom, why must you follow him?”

“I…..”

“Can’t you…..” Qiao Jin grabbed Liu Qiao’s hand and said, “Can’t you consider me yours?”

Liu Qiao was stunned. This was the second time Qiao Jin had said this. Looking at Qiao Jin, who was holding onto him with slightly trembling hands and reddened eyes, he was very similar to when Liu Qiao had gone back to find him eight years prior. This was how Qiao Jin had looked when he saw him.

But Liu Qiao wasn’t soft-hearted: “With those people from the capital around, Master is in danger. He needs me.”

Qiao Jin froze. Finally, he raised his head in compromise to direct a fierce glare at Liu Qiao: “Okay, when he needs you, stay by his side, and when he doesn’t need you, come back to me. You wanted to leave before to keep vigil for him, but this reason is no longer valid. Whatever you want to do in the future, I will do it with you. Anyway, we’ve stayed with each other for so many years. Getting used to this is better than you living alone again.”

Qiao Jin’s eyes gleamed brightly. It was as if they had turned into invisible claws and grabbed Liu Qiao. Before he could react, the stunned Liu Qiao had already nodded.

Qiao Jin was instantly happy. He raised his hands to hug Liu Qiao, but the other party impatiently pushed him away with the hilt of his sword.

Qiao Jin wasn’t angry, and just directly lowered his head and kissed the hilt of the sword, perhaps reduced to childish behavior due to his happiness. On the other hand, Liu Qiao froze.

When the two of them returned from their argument, Qiao Jin saw that they were ready to set off and said to Liu Zhenqing: “Hey, weren’t you going to poison me?”

Liu Zhenqing had said previously that he would use poison to control Qiao Jin.

Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “I already have, ah.”

Qiao Jin stared at him in bafflement.

With a glance at Liu Qiao, Liu Zhenqing said: “There is no cure for this poison, but as long as you obey me, I guarantee you won’t die.”

Qiao Jin was so angry that his blood surged again.

He felt that in this short night, the suffocation he inhaled was equivalent to that of the past ten years.

In the next second, Qiao Jin confirmed once more that Liu Zhenqing was the most annoying man in the world, bar none. 

Because Liu Zhenqing raised his hand toward Liu Qiao and shouted: “Let’s go.”

Immediately, Liu Qiao grasped Liu Zhenqing and flew away, a startled Huo Fenglie one step behind.

Qiao Jin shouted furiously on the spot: “Liu Zhenqing, you’re hugging the wrong person!”

In the distance, Liu Zhenqing’s proud voice could be heard: “Be good and get to work.”

Liu Qiao didn’t think there was anything wrong with carrying Liu Zhenqing while using qinggong. After all, it had been like this before. But he felt an uncomfortable gaze from behind him for quite some while. As a martial arts master, he was very perceptive, and felt ill-at-ease while being stared at constantly by unfriendly eyes.

“Master, General Huo seems to be watching us,” said Liu Qiao. He lowered his head. “Does he have something to say?”

Liu Zhenqing chuckled: “Don’t mind him. The child must be disciplined, or he’ll act outrageously.”

“Did you have a fight? Weren’t you two good before?” Liu Qiao asked in confusion.

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help feeling a bit lost. Yes, ah, they were fine before, but something went wrong.

Because they were in a hurry, the two of them didn’t speak much. They were already close to the dense forest, and now they had left the border and returned to the military camp.

When Huo Fenglie took Liu Zhenqing back, all of the military officials breathed sighs of relief. They saw that another newcomer had arrived, tall and handsome, and exuding the aura of a master. Moreover, he followed Liu Zhenqing step by step, seemingly closer to him than the general was. They couldn’t help being stunned.

Liu Zhenqing explained that this was the guard who had followed him before. He had been out working on something, but when he heard Liu Zhenqing had been kidnapped, he went to rescue him.

Everyone saw that Huo Fenglie had no objection, which meant this person was trustworthy, and came forward to express their care for Liu Zhenqing. After all, Huo Fenglie’s reaction before was too frightening.

Him going deep into the enemy base to rescue someone by himself really left everyone’s hearts suspended for two days. They used to feel that their general was untouched by worldly things, but now felt that he had gone to the other extreme. They didn’t dare say that the general had lost his wits to lust. After all, it was rare for their general to experience passion, and they were pleased to see it.

Someone came forward and said: “General, everything is stable here and there haven’t been any problems. It was hard work for you two all the way back, so go to the tent and rest early. Meals and hot water will be prepared for you right away.”

Those around had to give this man a thumbs up. Right, this was in consideration of their general’s morale problem, ah.

As a result, they heard Liu Zhenqing say: “Then please give me a separate tent. My guard and I wish to have a good rest.”

When these words came out, everyone looked in bafflement at Huo Fenglie, who was staring at Liu Zhenqing intently. Although there was no expression on his face, his mood was obviously low.

Was…..was this a quarrel? What was with this guard? Was he really a guard?

No way. They had just returned, and the soldiers were afraid something would happen again.

“This…..before, Young Master Liu was…..”

Liu Zhenqing glanced at Huo Fenglie and found him looking like a dog with its ears twitching. He was not soft-hearted, and said directly: “I’m not happy to reside with your general now, am I?”

Such obvious ruffled feathers caused the others to give Huo Fenglie meaningful looks, wanting him to coax the other party. But Huo Fenglie didn’t open his mouth. After all, even he didn’t know why Liu Zhenqing had lost his temper with him.

He could only say with a downcast expression: “Prepare it for Young Master Liu.”

Everyone looked at the person who had spoken up first, none daring to be the one to take up dividing the boss’s family.

Although everyone was pushing and shoving, arrangements were made for Liu Zhenqing. Only, it was arranged right next to the general’s camp.

Liu Zhenqing took Liu Qiao to the camp. When he saw Huo Fenlgie following them, he said: “Why are you following me? Get down to business.”

Huo Fenglie could only stop and watch Liu Zhenqing and Liu Qiao enter the tent.

Behind him was a group of theatergoers, who immediately stepped forward to comfort him.

“General, is Young Master Liu angry because he was frightened by the kidnapping?”

“Did he suffer a lot in Western Shu? It’s strange to blame you for following him.”

“It’s alright, General. Let’s go back and defeat Western Shu so that Young Master Liu calms down!”

“The general didn’t say that. Based on my experience with love affairs, you can’t save face right now. You must brazenly go and coax him.”

Huo Fenglie turned his head to give everyone a cold look: “You have so much free time?”

Everyone immediately dispersed.

Dai Tingyu and Tang Rou, who had heard the news, also rushed over. As soon as they entered the camp, Dai Tingyu was dragged into wild gossip by the other military officials. After all, Huo Fenglie was giving off an aura of low pressure right then, and they didn’t dare to get close. They could only rely on the shameless, brazen Dai Tingyu. Tang Rou went directly to see Liu Zhenqing.

Upon entering, she saw Liu Zhenqing sitting in front of a desk as he wrote something. Behind him stood a man carefully grinding ink.

Tang Rou glanced at Liu Zhenqing, then looked at Liu Qiao and found her eyes widening uncontrollably. “You…..you’re…..”

Liu Zhenqing recalled that Liu Qiao had been with him back then, so Tang Rou might have seen him before. He just made up an excuse and pretended that Liu Qiao followed him afterward.

Tang Rou didn’t overthink it. She wanted to ask a few words about Young Master Liu’s affairs, but felt that he would be offended, so she didn’t say much in the end. She just felt a little nostalgic now, seeing the person at Young Master Liu’s side.

Dai Tingyu heard that the two were having trouble and that there was an extra guard at Liu Zhenqing’s side, and couldn’t wait to rush to Huo Fenglie and gossip about how he had offended Liu Zhenqing.

Huo Fenglie was sitting dully in the tent, dealing with military affairs as Dai Tingyu asked nonstop questions. In the end, he could only raise his cold eyes and say: “He wants me to get engaged to Tang Rou, but I won’t agree.”

Hearing this, Dai Tingyu was instantly anxious: “That won’t work! Tang-chengzhu is unwilling, so how could it be possible! Why did he bring this up…..wait, I seem to have heard Tang-furen mention this. I thought she was speaking nonsense!”

Huo Fenglie’s expression turned ugly again: “He also wants to report to the emperor that Qiao An is jealous of him and made me unhappy, so that the emperor will reluctantly agree that I have a close relationship with him.”

“Ah? What on earth is he trying to do?” Dai Tingyu was dumbfounded.

Huo Fenglie’s eyes were full of gloom. “He does whatever he wants, and whatever he thinks is what comes out. He was one person when I found him, and another person now. I have no idea what’s on his mind. He doesn’t want it now, but will want it again later, regardless of my feelings. Should I be the angry one?”

Dai Tingyu was shocked. This was the first time he had seen Huo Fenglie so emotional, and he was even complaining casually. Dai Tingyu almost couldn’t recognize his brother.

This was what Huo Fenglie had concluded after thinking it over for a long while, but when he finished his emotional words, he couldn’t help but stare blankly. He said self-deprecatingly: “What qualifications do I have to be angry? He wanted it before, but he doesn’t want it now. Now that he’s got Liu Qiao, he doesn’t need me anymore.”

“Er-ge, are you talking about tongue-twisters? Do you hear what you’re saying? I heard it, but I don’t understand it.” Dai Tingyu’s eyes were wide. Was this really his Brother Huo? Why did he seem to be in self-denial?

Young Master Liu could usually be seen flirting with Brother Huo most of the time. Why, from Brother Huo’s mouth, did Young Master Liu sound like a scumbag?

But without waiting for Dai Tingyu to persuade him, Huo Fenglie stood up. “You’re all here. I have some proper business to speak of.”

Having said this, he walked out and turned toward the camp next door.

Dai Tingyu thought to himself, wasn’t he using their arrival as an excuse to rush to see Liu Zhenqing?

When Huo Fenglie entered the tent and saw Liu Zhenqing and Tang Rou chatting happily, with Liu Qiao also standing by, he felt even more sullen.

Liu Zhenqing just gave Huo Fenglie a glance, then said: “Just in time. I’ve written it down and put it on the table, have a look.”

Huo Fenglie’s eyes flashed, and when he stepped forward, he saw the secret message that was to be sent to Yuan Jue. Liu Zhenqing had already arranged the wording for him.

Although he knew it was for proper business, there was still sadness in Huo Fenglie’s heart. But when he got a good look at these words in his tone of voice, implicitly emphasizing how much he cared about ‘Liu Xiaozhu,’ his heart still hurt.

Qing-ge knew Yuan Jue best, so shouldn’t he understand the consequences of sending this letter? In that case, why did he still want him to get engaged? Had…..Qing-ge changed his mind?

That should be the case. After all, Qing-ge had never brought up the matter again. Huo Fenglie calmed down, saying: “I understand.”

Presently, he explained the current situation to Tang Rou and Dai Tingyu, only speaking of the secrets revealed by Qiao An, but not the situation with Qiao Jin and Liu Qiao. After, their act required the cooperation of Nanfeng City.

The expressions of these two changed when they heard this. After a serious discussion, they also wanted to meet Qiao An.

Huo Fenglie was going to take them to see Qiao An, but Liu Zhenqing didn’t want to go.

“You go ahead. In any case, I know everything I need to know. I’m tired and can’t be bothered to run around.”

Huo Fenglie frowned, knowing that Liu Zhenqing just didn’t want to be around him. Tang Rou and Dai Tingyu exchanged glances and went out first.

Huo Fenglie turned around to ask, then stopped. He said: “Qing-ge I have something to say.”

Liu Zhenqing raised an eyebrow, thinking that he finally couldn’t bear it anymore. It was time to have Liu Qiao go out so that they could clear things up between them.

Huo Fenglie approached Liu Zhenqing, gazing down at him. Finally, he lifted his hands to gently hold Liu Zhenqing’s as he said: “Qing-ge, don’t be angry with me, okay?”

Raising his head, Liu Zhenqing said: “Then do you know what I’m angry about?”

Huo Fenglie’s expression shifted. He said: “I didn’t listen to what Qing-ge said or do what Qing-ge wanted. Now…..what does Qing-ge want from me?”

This wording was not what Liu Zhenqing wanted to hear, but he still made do with it and opened his mouth to say: “Did you really listen to everything? Then I want you to decide…..”

He hadn’t finished speaking yet when the force on his wrists made him groan with a wince.

Liu Zhenqing looked at Huo Fenglie with an ugly expression and found that Huo Fenglie’s expression was even more unsightly than his.

“Qing-ge, you still haven’t changed your mind?”

Liu Zhenqing laughed angrily: “I should be the one asking you if you’ve changed your mind yet. Just want to play? Don’t want to be serious?”

His tone sank due to his anger, which immediately offended Huo Fenglie. Huo Fenglie instantly paled. Of course he understood. He knew that Qing-ge only wanted to play with him and didn’t intend to be serious, but there was no need to say it out loud and break his heart, okay? Was it because he feared it getting serious that Huo Fenglie must get engaged? How could Qing-ge be so cruel to him?

Huo Fenglie released Liu Zhenqing’s hands and said: “Qing-ge, I really can’t do it, but I’ll agree to any other conditions.”

Liu Zhenqing was furious. Seeing that Huo Fenglie was still maintaining a stubborn attitude, he suddenly felt as if he’d been tricked, and said in a temper: “Huo Fenglie, let me ask, do you like me?”

Huo Fenglie’s eyes instantly widened, and he stared at Liu Zhenqing in disbelief: “No, Qing-ge, I don’t like…..”

Liu Zhenqing’s expression went blank. Even though it was a lie, it still hurt. Unexpectedly, it was difficult to get to the bottom of this.

“Then get out!”

Huo Fenglie lowered his head stiffly. His heavy breathing could be heard throughout the tent. In the end, he didn’t let go of his stubbornness and turned around to go.

As soon as he went out, everyone noticed the problem with Huo Fenglie’s expression and knew that the reconciliation had failed.

This time, Dai Tingyu didn’t dare to say anything more until they saw Qiao An and were about to send him out.

Huo Fenglie suddenly took Tang Rou aside to talk.

Tang Rou felt it was a little strange, but came to a stop. Unexpectedly, Huo Fenglie came up to her and said: “Tang-chengzhu, I have no intention of marrying in this life, so no matter what Young Master Liu tells you, please refuse directly.”

Tang Rou was dumbfounded. Where was this going, ah?

“General Huo, that was my mother’s intention, but I have made my stance clear. I will not marry anyone, which I also told Young Master Liu.”

Huo Fenglie didn’t think much after hearing this, and just thought that Liu Zhenqing was working both sides.

“He wants us to get engaged.”

“How is that possible!” Tang Rou outright denied it. “He wants to get engaged to you.”

Huo Fenglie shook his head, but Tang Rou said consideringly: “It seems there really is a misunderstanding. I can go confront Young Master Liu. He likes you so much, how could he let you get engaged to me?”

Huo Fenglie stared blankly for a moment, then said: “He doesn’t like me, he just wants to be on intimate terms with me.”

Tang Rou smiled: “General Huo, everyone can tell whether or not he likes you. Have you always thought that he doesn’t like you? Then I’ll venture to ask, do you like Young Master Liu?”

Huo Fenglie froze.

Tang Rou looked at Huo Fenglie and said: “I can’t say much about the matters between you two, but there is one answer I can give you – I will not get engaged to you. The truth is that in my heart, I admire Prime Minister Liu. He is gone, and I really won’t marry anyone else.”

Huo Fenglie looked at Tang Rou with a frown. She smiled in relief and said: “Actually, my brother had spoken of giving my hand to Prime Minister Liu. Even as a concubine, it could be regarded as repaying a favor, as well as a show of trust. But Prime Minister Liu said that he was in a precarious situation, and to put it out of mind. I knew that was his gentle rejection.”

Tang Rou touched the jade pendant at her waist and said with a smile: “Although he treated women too softly, he still had a sense of measure. He gave me this jade pendant as a reward after he got drunk. He didn’t really want to give it to me.”

“And I…..I was timid at first and didn’t fight for myself. If I could go back to the beginning, I would at least want to express my feelings to him in person. Even if I was rejected, I would have no regrets in this life. Otherwise, I can’t help but regret it and fantasize that maybe if I had spoken up in the first place, there would be a different ending, even if it was accompanying him in death. But in the end, I still have regrets in this life.”

Having said this, Tang Rou looked at Huo Fenglie and said: “I heard that you also had feelings for Prime Minister Liu, but you probably didn’t really express them back then. What a blessing it is to find someone to love now. Cherish him. Don’t miss your chance again.”

Although Tang Rou didn’t know what was happening between the two, if Huo Fenglie didn’t like something Liu Zhenqing did, he should say so openly and clearly express his love. Tang Rou believed that everything could be solved in this way.

Huo Fenglie looked at this woman who had such regrets and felt his heart tremble. At least he was still with Qing-ge. Maybe he was lucky enough.

Thinking of Qing-ge’s question just now, perhaps he should tell the truth and not allow himself to have regrets. But in that case, wouldn’t Qing-ge be farther away from him? He couldn’t afford to take the gamble.

He just wanted to be with Qing-ge forever. He would never place any burden on him. It didn’t matter if it was only for fun, but just don’t push him on others. 

On the other side, Liu Zhenqing had smashed practically everything in the tent, leaving Liu Qiao befuddled.

Watching Liu Zhenqing pant, he said obediently: “Master, do you still want to smash things?” 

“You…..you go and beat up Er-gou!” Liu Zhenqing said at once.

Although Liu Qiao was momentarily stunned, he still turned around to leave. Of course, he was stopped by Liu Zhenqing.

“Damnit, he’s playing with me like this and I can’t bear to let him go.” 

Liu Zhenqing was utterly exasperated.

Liu Qiao finally revealed a bit of curiosity, saying: “Master, what’s wrong between the two of you? General Huo has been obedient to you since he was a child. How could he make you angry? He likes you so much.”

Liu Zhening suddenly seemed to have found an outlet to unburden himself: “You all keep saying that he likes me, but has he ever admitted it? He’s personally denied it, twice. He also rejected my marriage proposal twice. I suspect I’ve been brainwashed by you all. Maybe he doesn’t even like me, and it was just me being sentimental.”

Liu Zhenqing spoke as if he had lost heart.

Then Liu Qiao said suddenly: “Ah? He doesn’t like you? But he clearly used the ashes of your previous body to get that tattoo.” From Liu Qiao’s perspective, he didn’t understand love, but this was love to the point of madness.

Liu Zhenqing, who was smashing his pillow, was stupefied when he heard this. He turned his head to stare at Liu Qiao in astonishment, saying: “What…..what tattoo do you mean?”

“The willow leaf tattoo he has on his body. Master, have you not seen it yet? Your ashes are mixed into it.” Liu Qiao recalled what happened back then.

That year, once he had recovered from his injuries and was able to move, he hadn’t gone directly back to Qiao Jin, but instead returned to the capital, intending to seize his master’s coffin. When he heard the rumors about Huo Fenglie, Liu Qiao was furious and planned to kill him. But when he was crouching in the dark, he saw him and a few friends going to find an old tattooer in the capital.

At that time, Huo Fenglie opened a bottle and told the old man to mix the contents in.

The old man asked: “What is it?”

“Ashes.”

“Whose?”

“Qing-ge’s.”

“Who is Qing-ge?”

“My beloved.”

The old man asked strangely: “Even if they’re from your beloved, aren’t you afraid of nightmares?”

“If I can dream of him, nightmares are fine too.”

The old man persuaded: “Such infatuation. Why do you need to get a tattoo? Carrying it with you is just the same.”

“The battlefield is ever-changing, and I’m afraid that if I die there, they might be lost. With this tattoo on my body, even if I die, I won’t fear that I’ll be unable to find him in the underworld.”

The old man stopped persuading him.

Liu Qiao also saw things clearly, and quietly left.

He had determined that Huo Fenglie liked Liu Zhenqing, so as he protected Qiao Jin, he would also protect Huo Fenglie when he was in trouble.

After hearing this, Liu Zhenqing was completely dumbfounded.

---

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Chapter One Hundred Twenty-One << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Three

As Li Xiu looked at his grandmother, a bit of hope immediately rose in his chest.

But in the next second, the reanimated corpse continued its previous action. It seemed that the pause after hearing Li Xiu’s voice was just a coincidence.

At this moment, time seemed to go by very slowly.

Li Xiu felt a throbbing pain spreading from his sternum, as if some invisible person had stabbed him in the chest.

He was so sad that he could hardly breathe.

Almost at the same time, Teacher Xu rushed from his side toward the grandmother’s body. A quick, faint spell escaped the man’s lips, and immediately after, he took out several yellow papers and hurled them toward the corpse. Those talisman papers were completely divorced from scientific common sense. After being thrown, balls of flames flared up halfway and clung to the corpse as if they had a mind of their own.

Now, the corpse actually stopped.

Fang Qian’an seized the opportunity. He let out a cry of terror and hunched down, stumbling away from the corpse’s cold, dry hand.

“Help, ah!” He shouted at Teacher Xu and Li Xiu.

And during such a short moment, the fire talismans Teacher Xu had thrown out had already dissipated.

The corpse could be seen swaying, then slamming down from the ceiling. The deformed thing squirmed on the floor for a few seconds and then, like an insect or some kind of animal, the corpse’s back arched into a bizarre, twisted posture.

It directed a terrifying scream toward Teacher Xu, the sound guttural and penetrating.

A strong, rancid odor mixed with disinfectant spurted out. Li Xiu tried to hold his breath, but in the end, he almost retched.

Seeing his grandmother become like this, Li Xiu was on the verge of collapse.

“Grandmother!” the youth shouted subconsciously.

The excessive shock even caused him to forget his fear. At that moment, Li Xiu couldn’t help but rush a few steps in the direction of his grandmother.

He still couldn’t believe that this “monster,” shrieking as it moved, was his grandmother.

And that she didn’t remember him at all.

Fortunately, as soon as Li Xiu moved, Qiao Yang encircled his waist and dragged him backward.

The young Taoist disciple’s face was pale as he said over and over again, “Don’t, Li Xiu. Don’t get closer. She’s already a reanimated corpse, and we don’t know what kind of monster is inside it. Don’t go over there!”

Although he seemed to be doing better than Li Xiu, in fact, he was also frightened to the point of losing his soul. In his memory, the last time a reanimated corpse had appeared in China was in 1995. Qiao Yang had originally thought that this matter was about to become a metaphysical horror story, and as a result, he was right.

…..He now very much hoped that a martial artist stuntman like Lin Zhenying would parachute down in front of him.

The most important thing was that, at this moment, the grandmother was not the only reanimated corpse in the luxurious mansion.

Shasha…..

Sha…..

Figures moved within the darkness.

Sluggish, slightly deformed pale figures stood up unsteadily and walked slowly in the direction of Li Xiu and the others.

They were ordinary people who had been bitten by the corpse before.

“We must go, quickly!” Teacher Xu shouted loudly. Raising his hand, he nailed several talismans onto the heads and shoulders of those people. Then, he supported Fang Qian’an and retreated toward Li Xiu and Qiao Yang. The four of them gathered together. Teacher Xu pushed Li Xiu and Qiao Yang, and everyone began to run toward the door.

Bang—

The man slammed the mansion’s double doors shut.

Almost at the same time the door closed, several spine-tingling, dull thumping sounds came from behind it.

Those “people” who had besieged Fang Qian’an before were slamming their bodies against it continuously.

Li Xiu covered his mouth, watching the slightly shaking doors in horror.

Teacher Xu was also breathing heavily. He patted Li Xiu on the shoulder and said calmly, “Those talismans won’t last long…..these things haven’t been seen in this country for many, many years. I’m not a member of the Xiangxi sect, so I’m not a professional when it comes to drawing talismans.”

It was dark inside the building.

Just like when they had rushed over urgently.

When they arrived, Teacher Xu and Li Xiu discovered that the high-end building that was supposed to be lit 24/7 was now enveloped by darkness.

The security personnel, the lobby manager, and even the proprietor had vanished as if they had been swallowed up by a monster.

Teacher Xu knew things weren’t good, but even he hadn’t expected that after all that hard work of climbing the stairs to get there, they would face such a terrifying scene.

After leaving the Fang residence, the four of them naturally ignored the elevator and ran straight to the fire escape.

When leaving, Teacher Xu put himself behind everyone, and the group quickly spiraled down the fire escape.

Occasionally, strange rustling noises could be heard on the other side of the fire escape doors. Apart from their rapid footsteps, there was only thick darkness in the corridor and an almost substantive oppressive fear.

Finally, Li Xiu couldn’t hold himself back and asked in a breathless whisper: “Who were the people in the house just now? Are they dead?”

“Haven’t you ever seen a zombie movie? People bitten by zombies will also become zombies,” Qiao Yang said in a low voice.

“They’re…..dead?” Li Xiu heard Fang Qian’an say in a hoarse voice.

Qiao Yang said nothing.

All at once, Li Xiu was filled with panic.

Fortunately, after a few seconds’ pause, Qiao Yang added: “…..No, but they’re soaked in yin qi right now, so I guess they’re pretty much like living corpses.”

Walking behind everyone, Teacher Xu suddenly said in a stern tone, “Don’t talk so much.”

They all fell silent at once.

The reason was very simple. Because just after Teacher Xu told them to be quiet, everyone in the stairwell heard the faint sound of footsteps in that moment of silence.

Ka—

Ka—

Those were not human footsteps at all.

It sounded more like someone jumping on their tiptoes.

Behind him, Li Xiu heard the faint sound of paper rustling in Teacher Xu’s hands.

He subconsciously started to look back, but as soon as he turned his head slightly, Teacher Xu suddenly reached out and pressed the back of his head.

“Don’t look.”

Teacher Xu’s voice was hoarse, with a hint of nearly unnoticeable weakness. Li Xiu immediately moved forward, not daring to look back. All four of them had cell phones with them, and they should have been able to descend the fire escape faster with the light. But for some reason, everyone avoided doing so.

However, in such imposing darkness, a person’s perception became particularly sharp.

Several times, as Li Xiu went down the steps, he felt that the feeling of them wasn’t right.

His soles were very sticky, and there was an indescribably strange smell in the air.

Occasionally…..

Only occasionally, Li Xiu felt as if he was stepping on something soft.

Li Xiu walked down through the darkness step by step. In a daze, he felt as if he was trapped in an absurd, void-like nightmare.

He really hoped this was all a dream. After all, zombies weren’t real in dreams, nor was his reanimated grandmother who was unable to rest in peace. And there would be no such suffocating darkness as he moved forward.

Ka—

The building was very tall.

When they reached the second half of their journey, Li Xiu, whose feet were already clumsy, could hardly move no matter how many people were coming.

He unconsciously slowed down.

Just behind them, the sounds grew even closer.

Sometimes, Li Xiu sensed that the strange footsteps entirely overlapped with theirs. So loud, so vivid, so close that it was almost right next to their group, following them down in the darkness.

Li Xiu gritted his teeth, the taste of blood filling his mouth.

His foot hurt as if it was about to break.

The extreme tension almost seemed to make his body fracture apart, his mind almost unable to control his legs—

He heard Teacher Xu urge from behind him: “Li Xiu, hurry up…..”

Bolstering himself, Li Xiu answered: “Okay.”

But before he finished speaking, he accidentally stepped wrong and fell forward uncontrollably.

He let out a muffled scream.

Despair swept over him instantly. Li Xiu knew very well that if he fell down the stairs right now, what awaited him would not only be injury, but also…..

A pair of hands suddenly reached out and grabbed Li Xiu very firmly.

“Fang Qian’an?”

“Shh…..” the other boy hissed in a suppressed whisper.

Before Li Xiu could react, he was once again being carried on the back of the former school bully. Li Xiu reflexively struggled, and felt Fang Qian’an’s body tense up.

Li Xiu heard Fang Qian’an warn him stiffly: “I’m warning you not to struggle. I don’t have much strength right now.”

“You’re a skinny little thing, and not hard to carry at all, so you’d better stay on top of me and not cause me any trouble.”

“…..”

The frail youth bit his lip. In the face of this crude warning, he didn’t utter a retort. On the contrary, he adjusted his posture as much as he could — his thighs hooked around Fang Qian’an’s waist, with his upper body pressed against Fang Qian’an’s back. His arms looped around the other boy’s shoulders and chest.

This posture could save Fang Qian’an some effort.

However, it also enabled Li Xiu notice how tense Fang Qian’an was.

Ka—

The strange footsteps sounded again.

Li Xiu instinctively tightened his thighs.

And through the thin clothing, Li Xiu could clearly feel Fang Qian’an’s body spasm several times. Then it abruptly became as unyielding as stone, and even the hands Fang Qian’an was using to grab onto his thighs unconsciously exerted force.

Li Xiu’s legs and feet weren’t strong, and his thigh muscles were extremely soft.

Fang Qian’an’s fingers practically sunk into his thighs, making Li Xiu feel a little sore.

But he didn’t care about such minor pain in this situation.

“Thank you.”

Li Xiu’s grateful voice could be heard in the darkness, as quiet as a mosquito.

Fang Qian’an’s back was soaked with sweat from the previous fright. But it was still broad and strong, the arms holding Li Xiu as firm as ever.

It felt familiar to Li Xiu.

He could help but think, how many times had this occurred?

It seemed to have happened several times.

When he was nearly unable to walk, it seemed that the same person would silently lead him forward amidst unknown fear and inescapable darkness.

Thud, thud—

There seemed to be a slight problem with his heartbeat.

Li Xiu closed his eyes and pressed his face against Fang Qian’an’s shoulder, his thoughts hazy.

Time seemed to pass very slowly, yet also very fast.

All the way down from the top of the building, he finally saw the exit. All of them almost fell to their knees due to the double burden of physical and mental pressure.

Teacher Xu was the last one to step out of the fire escape.

Li Xiu noticed keenly that Teacher Xu wasn’t holding multiple talismans in his hand, but just one last piece of talisman paper.

Having escaped in such a way, unlike how the other three were panting, Teacher Xu’s face was pale, as if he had just been fished out of water.

Before Li Xiu could ask Teacher Xu how he was doing, the man suddenly turned and threw the last talisman into the darkness.

Then he slammed the escape door.

Thud—

In the next second, Li Xiu heard an extremely familiar strange, dull smashing sound.

“Teacher Xu?”

“It’s alright.” Teacher Xu held himself up using the wall and met Li Xiu’s eyes, shaking his head slightly.

He said softly: “Let’s go. Get in the car first.”

After a brief rest, the four people supported each other as they staggered toward the building’s exit.

But then, they came upon a dense nighttime fog.

Teacher Xu’s lips moved slightly, no longer so gentle as he let out a curse.

“Damn—”

---

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Chapter 51 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 53

“Hey…..little brat…..why the hell are you trying to play dead?”

“Fuck, you’re playing tricks again…..”

Fang Qian’an dimly felt someone pull his hair, kick him in the stomach, and slap him.

Wait…..who dared do this to him?

Before the anger could rise to the surface of his consciousness, he first felt a chill radiating from his bones and an unprecedented feeling of weakness.

He felt as if he had turned into a ball of cotton, which was then soaked in ice water.

His body was so heavy that he couldn’t even move his fingers. It was a very strange feeling, but mysteriously and inexorably, Fang Qian’an felt that it was supposed to be like this.

So weak, miserable, and hopeless.

When he exerted all his strength, Fang Qian’an managed to open his eyes despite the stinging pain. Several blurry-looking people in housekeeping uniforms appeared in his hazy field of vision.

“You finally stopped playing dead.”

Seeing “Fang Qian’an” open his eyes, the man sneered and dragged him up by his arm.

“Stop pretending to be pitiful in here. Stand up on your own. Do you want us to carry you away in a sedan chair?”

Amidst the harsh insults, “Fang Qian’an” struggled to stand steadily.

He realized then that he had just been huddled in a small, windowless room that was extremely cramped and cold. Now, he was suddenly pushed into the outside world, and the light shining in from the floor-to-ceiling windows made his eyes tear up. His body shook uncontrollably.

The housekeeper next to him let out an irritated grunt. “What are you waiting around for? The Madam wants to see you. Hey, I’m telling you, don’t pull in tricks here and get us scolded—” As she spoke, she slapped “Fang Qian’an” hard and he almost fell to the floor again.

How dare these people do this to him—

No…..

Hadn’t they always been like this?

Why was he angry? He was obviously accustomed to it already.

Two completely different emotions intertwined in “Fang Qian’an’s” heart.

“Fang Qian’an” vaguely remembered that his status was very high and everyone should be supporting him, but at this moment, what emerged inside him was a strong feeling of helplessness.

“He” couldn’t even feel any resistance within himself.

It was like…..like his body had long been used to this sort of treatment.

And he also knew very well that any resistance would only lead to even more brutal beatings and beratement.

Yes, this was his daily life. Why would he think he could resist these people?

Biting his lip, “Fang Qian’an” staggered up expressionlessly.

He was shoved by the housekeeper behind him, and walked with dragging steps to the living room of the luxurious villa.

A woman was sitting on the sofa, holding a cup and slowly enjoying her afternoon tea.

“Fang Qian’an” couldn’t see her face clearly. He could only see bright red lips embedded in a pale face, like a fake and terrifying mask.

When she caught sight of Fang Qian’an, the woman’s lips curled downward. It was an expression of extreme disgust and dislike.

The woman’s voice sounded harshly: “Tsk, after teaching you for so long, you still don’t know any manners. What’s the matter, you won’t address me when you see me?”

“Fang Qian’an’s” lips moved slightly.

But after trying for a long time, he still didn’t make a sound.

To the side, a housekeeper speculated on the madam’s mood with a frown and moved to slap the frail boy again.

The woman sneered and signaled for the housekeeper to stop.

“Forget it. If you don’t want to address me, then don’t address me. It’s actually very unlucky to be called “Mom” by a little bastard. Oh, by the way, I called you here to tell you something.”

The woman put down her teacup and gazed at Fang Qian’an with two dark, empty eyes.

“That cheap mother of yours is dead.”

“……”

The woman said with a smile: “I heard that her death was quite tragic, and that she must have jumped to her death. The body no longer looked human. Tsk, tsk, she used to use her face to win men over. This must be her punishment, you see, having no face after death.”

Time seemed to have stopped inside the villa. The surroundings were quiet and cool.

“Fang Qian’an” continued to stand a distance away, staring blankly at the woman before him.

He didn’t make a sound.

The woman continued to stare.

“Fang Qian’an” had the strong, inexplicable feeling that the reason why this woman was looking at him so intently was just to see his expression of pain, despair, and collapse.

However, he was unable to fulfill the woman’s wish. His heart was numb.

“Fang Qian’an” happened to look behind the woman.

In the sunny living room, there was a faint shadow behind her.

Barely visible, it looked like a person with their head hanging down.

The child’s silence made the woman frown in dissatisfaction.

“Your mother died and you don’t even react. What can I say, you were born a bastard, a white-eyed wolf,” the woman said icily.

“If Xiao Wei’s brain wasn’t muddled, I certainly would have never let you into this house. Li Yu, if you have any sense, you had best behave in the future. You must know that if I hadn’t taken you in, now that you’re an orphan…..”

“I’m not an orphan.”

“Fang Qian’an” heard himself suddenly speak up in a hoarse tone, saying to the woman word by word, “I still have a younger brother.”

When the frail boy spoke, his voice was unusually stubborn.

“Mama took me to see him. My little didi is very pretty and well-behaved.”

“Ha? When did you—”

“I still have my grandmother, and she’s with Didi.”

Gradually, very gradually, the child’s voice finally took on a tearful tone.

“I don’t want to be your child at all. Just throw me out. I’ll go find Grandmother and my didi.”

“I don’t want to live with bad people like you at all—”

There was a crash as the woman smashed something.

The expensive bone china teacup shattered to pieces on “Fang Qian’an’s” forehead. Hot tea poured down, burning half of his face to such an extent that even the blood continuously oozing from his wounds felt cold in contrast to the hot liquid.

In extreme pain, “Fang Qian’an” heard the woman scream: “Even at such a time, you want to make me angry. Lock this bastard away!”

“Lock him away until he’s sensible!”

Soon after, they threw “Fang Qian’an,” or rather, Li Yu, back into the cold, cramped room at the end of the hallway.

The lock clicked, and darkness enveloped the child once more.

In the room, there was suddenly a kind of faint scratching sound.

The child who remained unmoved in the face of beatings was now huddled in the corner with a look of fear on his swollen face. He raised his eyes to look at the wall on the other side of the room — on the filthy wall, a small red door had appeared at some point.

A sort of vague murmur sounded from behind the door.

However, no matter how hard “Fang Qian’an” listened in his dream, he couldn’t clearly hear what the voice was saying.

He only knew that he was shaking his head unceasingly as he held himself tighter.

There was no telling how long it was like this until the door opened again.

“I just came to see how he’s doing, don’t tell my sister…..”

“Fang Qian’an” lay shivering on the floor, lacking the strength to raise his head.

He sensed someone coming in.

However, the man didn’t shove him or dump rank food into the stainless steel bucket for him like a dog.

The person just came in and crouched beside him, then click, click, took photos of him.

“Wow, he really is pitiful, ah.”

The voice was clearly that of a young man, but it sounded particularly murky.

The man clicked his tongue and took a few more photos, then reached out and manipulated the child’s body so that the wounds would be more exposed to the camera.

Gradually, his breathing became heavier.

Just like that, he grabbed the child’s hair and turned his face toward him, then let out a low exclamation. 

“Damn, it turns out you’re still awake.”

“Fang Qian’an” blinked slowly.

He looked toward that person, and a familiar face came into view.

It was Ou Yang.

It was Ou Yang in his youth.

The young Ou Yang held a camera in his hand. When he met “Fang Qian’an’s” eyes, his mouth stretched into an uncontrollable grin.

He looked like a starving feral dog drooling over a piece of meat.

A strange light flared in the depths of his eyes.

“Hey, Li Yu…..” he heard Ou Yang called out.

“It’s easier now that you’re awake, little guy. I heard you haven’t eaten in a long time, right? Are you very hungry?”

“……”

“Look how pitiful you are like this. I’ll start a video in a minute, and you, just follow my instructions and take off your clothes. How about you take off a piece of clothing and I’ll give you a cookie?” As Ou Yang spoke, he took a cookie from his pocket and waved it in front of the child.

Although it sounded like he was making a suggestion, his hand was already on the emaciated child’s lapel.

In the next second, Ou Yang screamed.

“Ouch—”

He never expected that the child who was already on death’s door would still have the strength to scratch him. If he hadn’t been able to dodge quickly, his eye might have been gouged out by this bastard.

“You’ve got a fucking death wish!”

Immediately after, he kicked the child.

“Fang Qian’an” whimpered and curled in on himself.

He had no way to avoid the man’s beating. In the hands of a wealthy second-generation like Ou Yang, the expensive XLR camera became an easy-to-obtain tool for pummeling someone to death.

Thwack—

Thwack—

Thwack—

In severe pain, the child’s consciousness began to blur.

The floor became wet, slippery, and a little sticky.

“Fang Qian’an” tried to speak, but was in too much pain. Just by opening his mouth, a sweet, pungent liquid spurted from his mouth and nose.

He couldn’t even beg for mercy.

At last, Ou Yang suddenly stopped.

Panting heavily, he climbed to his feet next to the unmoving boy and looked in bewilderment at the mass of flesh and blood on the floor that no longer looked human.

“Fuck, did I make a mistake—”

He scratched his hair, a trace of fear flashing through his eyes.

“Hey, little bastard!”

Ou Yang swallowed a gulp of saliva and softly tapped the child on the ground with his toes……he was soft.

As soft as mud.

Ou Yang’s expression truly became ugly now.

He picked up the camera on the floor and held it in his arms, wiping off the blood. Then he hastily ran out of the room and slammed the door.

Through the door, he could faintly hear someone else talking to him.

“Young Master Ou, what’s wrong? Oh, heavens, why is there so much blood?

“What are you asking for? It has nothing to do with you. Oh, and you’re not allowed to tell anyone about this.”

“…..”

“Talking too much won’t save you money. So don’t tell anyone about this if you can’t handle the consequences, you hear…..”

“Y-yes, Young Master Ou.”

The voices started to become hazy and distant.

“Fang Qian’an” lay silently on the floor, and the fierce, stabbing pain gradually left his body.

His body began to grow cold.

“He” was going to die.

Although he was only a young child, he was unusually clear about the fact that he would die soon.

In sharp contrast to his gradually weakening flame of life, a fierce hatred rose continually in the child’s chest.

“It hurts, ah…..”

“It hurts…..”

“These bad people…..”

It was at this time that, in the darkness, he heard a moist rubbing sound.

The previously vague voice now became extremely clear.

[“Oh, you want all those people killed?”]

[“Then, what will you give in exchange?”]

[“All of you?]

[“Okay, even though I’ve been hungry for so long…..”]

[“Then from now on, everything about you belongs to me.”]

[“Your name.”]

[“Your body.”]

[“And your existence itself.”]

Something slowly covered his body.

It was a chill that could almost penetrate into the depths of the soul, bringing a pain even more unbearable than death.

It was like something was chewing him up.

Before his consciousness faded completely away, “Fang Qian’an” struggled to open his eyes and look at the thing on his body.

It was an evil, foul, disgusting thing.

It was eating him.

It was very hungry.

*

*

“Wu….cough, cough, cough…..”

Fang Qian’an woke up screaming.

The residual fear from the dream went deep into his bones, and he was so terrified that he had to keep gasping for breath. He began to cough violently.

Countless small, hard particles spurted from Fang Qian’an’s mouth, and when he covered it, he realized in a trance that he was spitting out rice.

Raw rice.

His mouth was actually full of uncooked rice.

After half-kneeling on the ground and coughing for a long time, Fang Qian’an was finally able to take a breath.

Only then did he realize that he was crouching in the kitchen. But the kitchen, which was always neatly tidied by Aunt Su, was now in a state of disarray. A sealed container of rice had been roughly dug out at some point and dumped on the floor.

Rice was scattered everywhere in front of Fang Qian’an.

Some of it had been spat out by him and was covered in his spit.

“What the hell?” Fang Qian’an looked around in horror, utterly confused.

What was he doing?

Why…..why was he here?

Right then, a hoarse question sounded from behind him.

“Does it taste good, ah?”

A chill ran down Fang Qian’an’s spine. He stood up unconsciously.

At this time, the one who came to check on the situation was his caretaker, Aunt Su.

The young school bully said in a panic: “Aunt Su, it’s like I’m fucking dreaming—”

But before he finished speaking, his words abruptly cut off. He looked behind him in shock and found that the person standing in the corner of the kitchen was not the familiar Aunt Su at all, but a somewhat familiar old lady.

The old lady’s face was pallid, and her eyes were a cloudy gray.

There was the smell of disinfectant, along with the very faint odor of a corpse.

Fang Qian’an trembled all over.

“G-Grandmother?”

Fang Qian’an’s mind went blank and he staggered back.

He recognized her. Wasn’t the old lady before him the same one who’d brought him and Li Xiu out of that other world?

He’d later heard that Li Xiu’s grandmother had died saving them.

But now, the body that was supposed to be lying in a funeral home had actually appeared in his kitchen?

Was this a nightmare?

Was he having a series of nightmares again?!

Fang Qian’an bit his tongue hard.

But the pain from the wound made him realize desperately that he wasn’t dreaming.

But Fang Qian’an would rather he was dreaming—

Because just as he was backing away in terror, he watched powerlessly as the old woman staggered toward him on tiptoe.

“Eat more, ah…..good boy, eat more…..”

Inarticulate mumbling came from the corpse’s mouth.

While speaking, the old woman actually put her skinny, chicken-foot-looking hand directly into her mouth.

First the palm, then the wrist, and finally the arm…..

The sense-defying action caused the corpse’s cheeks to burst open.

Drops of thick black blood continuously flowed from the open wounds.

Bit by bit, the old woman’s corpse took something out of its stomach.

Then it turned its head toward Fang Qian’an and smiled.

If that could even be called a smile.

The action just now had completely torn the old person’s jaw, and a gray-red tongue fell out limply. Black blood continued to gush out. In the corpse’s palm, covered in black blood, was a ball of broken bones covered in meat.

“Eat, eat. You’re so hungry,” the old person said.

“Grandmother hid it for you. Eat well. Only when you are full will you grow taller…..”

He watched as the old woman’s corpse drew closer and closer to him with its hand raised. 

Fang Qian’an was so terrified that he snatched the knife block near the sink and slammed it at her.

The heavy knife block hit the old person with a dull thump.

Fang Qian’an’s vaunted arm strength finally had a practical use.

Unlike those ethereal ghosts, the corpse’s body shook after being hit by the knife block and fell backward heavily.

This was his chance. Fang Qian’an screamed and ran directly over the old person’s body and out of the kitchen.

He reached out instinctively to press the house alarm and alert the security guards.

But before he could touch the screen, several familiar figures appeared in front of him.

When he saw them, Fang Qian’an’s pupils instantly shrunk.

“Is there a mistake…..” the boy whimpered desperately.

Those people were Aunt Su and the housekeeping staff on duty that night.

They were still the same people, but looking at them now, Fang Qian’an knew that something was wrong with them. Were they still alive? Fang Qian’an didn’t know.

Because each of them was walking in a strange, extremely stiff manner. And their eyes had all turned white, their faces circles of gray.

Fang Qian’an keenly spied a deep tooth mark on Aunt Su’s neck, as if it had just been bitten.

Terrifyingly, as they approached Fang Qian’an, they repeated in unison what that old corpse had said before.

“Eat, eat well.”

“Don’t be afraid.”

“You’re hungry.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Fang Qian’an lifted a nearby chair and hurled it at them.

Several of them were knocked down, but Fang Qian’an failed to escape as smoothly as he had in the kitchen — for no other reason than that there were too many “people.”

The most horrifying thing was that after being hit, those “people” were clearly covered in blood, some of them even bearing obvious fractures and distortions on the shoulders and arms, but they seemed to be completely immune to the pain and continued to approach Fang Qian’an in that utterly bizarre way.

They urged Fang Qian’an: 

“Eat.”

“It’s time to eat.”

Without knowing it, Fang Qian’an was forced into a corner.

The former school bully was so scared that his face turned ashen and his voice trembled.

“Don’t come over here…..”

Fang Qian’an screamed and kept waving the weapon in his hand, a broken chair leg.

And at this moment, Fang Qian’an felt something tickling his neck. When he touched it, he found that at some point, his neck had been covered in foul, sticky black blood. 

“ ? ! ”

A chill rushed straight up his back. Fang Qian’an raised his head stiffly.

A twisted, broken face came into sight.

The old woman’s deformed corpse currently stood upside down on the ceiling, its hands hanging straight down.

The cracked mouth now looked like a pitch-black cavern.

“It’s time to eat…..” the corpse said fervently.

Thin, stiff fingers latched onto Fang Qian’an’s jaw.

“Wu —”

No matter how hard Fang Qian’an tried, he was entirely unable to move.

His eyes widened helplessly as he watched the corpse bring the thing in its hand to his lips little by little.

“No…..”

“Help…..help me…..” 

Fang Qian’an sobbed.

His whole body was ice cold, his face covered in tears and snot.

The whole world seemed blurry right then, and only the corpse’s deformed body and cloudy eyes seemed incredibly clear.

When he was about to be forced to eat the unknown object that had just been taken from the corpse’s belly, there was suddenly a loud noise at the door of the room.

The door was forcefully broken open.

“Grandmother! Don’t—”

A clear, alarmed voice immediately exploded in Fang Qian’an’s ears.

Fang Qian’an shook violently, and his consciousness instantly returned.

Li Xiu was panting as he knelt in the Fang family’s luxurious foyer. When he raised his head, the youth caught sight of the desperate scene in the corner.

With tears streaming down his face, he shouted at the familiar yet unfamiliar corpse by the wall:

“Grandmother! Grandmother, don’t do this! Let him go—”

When it heard Li Xiu’s call, there was a slight pause in the corpse’s movements.

---

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Chapter 50 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 52

It was clear that something terrible had happened, as the ward was a mess, but why did everyone look like they had only now realized something was wrong? Weren’t they just outside the door? Moreover, the door was open…..

Were these people really human beings? Or were they still trapped in an illusion created by ghosts? Li Xiu stared in surprise and uncertainty at the people pouring into the room. He was so frightened that he was about to lose his mind, and wanted to hide in the corner of the room. 

Fortunately, Teacher Xu also recovered at this time. The man’s expression wasn’t good, but he had returned to his original calmness. Raising his hand, he tapped Li Xiu’s forehead and quickly murmured a few faint spells. 

Li Xiu felt a chill rush straight into the depths of his forehead through the point of contact with Teacher Xu. He instantly shivered. And in the next second, felt his spirit lighten and was abruptly much more clear-headed.

Li Xiu looked at the time and realized that what had been an extremely long battle for him had only gone on for a minute or two. 

Except…..

As if conscious of Li Xiu’s terror, Teacher Xu stood in front of him and explained tiredly: “They shouldn’t have seen anything just now. This is the most common ghostly illusion. Don’t be afraid, that thing is gone.”

*

The commotion in the night ward lasted only a short while.

Not long after Teacher Xu made a phone call, everything returned to normal.

At least, that was how it seemed.

The man gave Li Xiu a set of thick clothing, then took him and the newly conscious Qiao Yang to move to a new location. However, he didn’t find another ward to accommodate Li Xiu. Instead, he took the youth and his disciple directly to the hospital’s parking lot.

Teacher Xu motioned for Li Xiu to follow Qiao Yang into the vehicle.

The car was an ordinary second-hand Honda, and looked as if it was approaching the end of its life. After sitting down, Li Xiu immediately noticed a string of coin trees hanging in the rearview mirror. The red strand wrapped around copper coins was faded, looking quaint and eccentric. A brass bell hung in each corner of the vehicle, but the car shook several times as they boarded, and the bells never made a sound.

Qiao Yang noticed Li Xiu staring at them and whispered an explanation in his ear: “These will only make noise when something evil is close by. The more ferocious the thing is, the louder they will become as it approaches.”

In addition to these, Li Xiu even saw a bronze figure of the president on the console and some 100 yuan bills stuck to the interior of the roof.

Qiao Yang: “Eh, these are all actually good for warding off evil spirits.”

Li Xiu: “Oh.”

It had to be said that the furnishings in the car were things of unreliable magic, but when Li Xiu looked at those strange things, he felt an inexplicable peace of mind.

“Come on, drink some hot water…..”

Before they left, Teacher Xu had filled a thermos full of warm water from the nurse’s station. At this time, he took two paper cups out of nowhere and filled them with water, handing them to Li Xiu and Qiao Yang.

When he took the hot water, Li Xiu realized his fingers were so cold that he couldn’t feel them.

Li Xiu drank the hot water in small sips, and it took him a long while to summon the courage to speak in a soft voice: “Teacher Xu, we drove away that…..Lord Hong. He won’t come back, will he?”

Teacher Xu was silent for a moment upon hearing this question. Then he removed his glasses and wiped them.

He didn’t answer the question directly.

“Were you afraid of what happened just now?” he asked suddenly.

Li Xiu nodded. “…..I was scared.”

In fact, he didn’t need to ask in order to know the answer. The youth’s eyes were very red. He had obviously been terrified before.

It wasn’t like Li Xiu had never been to a haunted house or watched horror movies. If he really had to say, the haunted houses and ghost movies created by people contained more terrifying and gory scenes, but no matter how realistic a haunted house was, or how spooky the plot of a movie was, it couldn’t compare to the fear Li Xiu had just experienced.

Li Xiu felt a sense of powerlessness when recalling the scene that had just occurred.

Looking at Li Xiu’s frightened face, Teacher Xu smiled bitterly.

“It was a bit overwhelming, ah. However, Classmate Li Xiu, you must be bolder from now on. You cannot continue to be scared like this,” the man said in a low voice.

“I told you before, didn’t I? The more afraid a person is, the more unstable their soul will be.” As the man spoke, he raised the thermos and shook it, causing the remaining hot water to gurgle.

“According to common sense, it is difficult for the soul to escape the body. But if a ghost continues to frighten a person, it will cause the soul to become unstable, and the Yang fire in the heat and shoulders will naturally weaken. When the Yang fire weakens, a person’s heart and soul will become increasingly unstable and more easily frightened…..a vicious cycle is formed, and the individual will eventually be possessed by the ghost.”

“Ah?”

“You see, a great many people develop mental problems. When they are sent to the hospital for examination, these people first have nervous breakdowns and trouble sleeping, ah. But if they aren’t careful, they will immediately suffer from serious mental issues. Of course, some of these people must have pathological mental illnesses, but there are also some who are inseparable from the supernatural.”

As he listened to Teacher Xu’s words, Li Xiu’s eyes widened incrementally.

“Teacher Xu, you mean…..”

“I think ‘that thing’ is deliberately trying to terrify you and abscond with your soul.” At this point, Teacher Xu’s expression became even more grave. 

He fixed his eyes on Li Xiu and asked solemnly, “This is not the first time, nor the second. Your ‘gege’ is too obsessed with you and intends to take you away. Classmate Li Xiu, ah, answer me honestly, have you ever made a wish to that thing?”

Li Xiu was about to shake his head when he heard Teacher Xu speak again.

“…..Perhaps you didn’t even realize it. When you offered raw rice to your gege, what was on your mind?”

This time, Li Xiu hesitated.

Words of denial were already on his lips, but now they stuck in his throat and he couldn’t say a single word.

Had he really never made a wish to his gege?

It was as if a questioning voice continuously spoke from the bottom of his heart.

When he was bullied by that group of people at school, he never asked for anything. Where was there anyone who would help him?

When his grandmother was ill, didn’t he wish that he wasn’t an orphan, and that some relative would come and relieve his burdens? 

“I-I may…..have actually made a wish.” Li Xiu’s stuttering voice shook.

“Grandmother always told me he was my gege, so sometimes I wished I really had a gege whose protection I could hide under. So that I could focus on studying and not worry about all those things…..”

Wet tears appeared on Li Xiu’s cheeks without him noticing.

“But. I didn’t mean it.”

When Teacher Xu glimpsed the look on Li Xiu’s face at this moment, a look of understanding immediately appeared in his eyes.

Teacher Xu repeatedly comforted the youth in front of him: “Don’t let this weigh on you. That thing, Lord Hong, is very cunning. Even if you were an eminent monk with no wishes or desires, if you are near such a thing for a long period of time, many wild fancies will arise in your mind. Classmate Li Xiu, you’re just an ordinary student who wants to have a complete family and study well. This is very normal, so there is nothing to blame yourself for at all.”

But Li Xiu’s tears didn’t stop. He’d never thought that the wish he had unconsciously made in his heart would eventually lead to such bitter consequences.

In fact, Teacher Xu had been attempting to comfort him and didn’t speak very straightforwardly, but Li Xiu wasn’t a fool. On the contrary, he was intelligent enough that even though just a few words were spoken, he could guess that — it was his desire to have family that would protect him which had released Lord Hong.

Li Xiu wept for a while before raising his elbow and desperately wiping away his tears with his sleeve. Taking several deep breaths, he forced himself to get a grip.

He knew that crying wouldn’t accomplish anything.

“Is there really no other way?” Li Xiu asked hoarsely. “Isn’t there someone like Lin Zhengying,^[1] who can suppress demons? There must be a capable master like him somewhere in the world…..”

Hearing Lin Zhengying’s name, Teacher Xu was slightly startled, and his expression froze.

“Ah, actually, Teacher Xu may be more capable than Lin Zhengying.”

At this moment, Qiao Yang hurriedly explained on behalf of Teacher Xu: “You should watch less of those Hong Kong ghost movies. Lin Zhengying and all that are all fictitious. In reality, he may not be as capable as my teacher.”

Qiao Yang’s face was actually still a bit pasty as he tried his best to defend Teacher Xu, and he poured some more hot water for himself.

Unfortunately, Li Xiu’s hesitance was obvious when he heard that last sentence.

Before he could respond, Qiao Yang quickly spoke again.

“This difficulty is just because of the thing that’s harassing you! It’s so strange, and extremely vicious! I swear I’ve never seen anything so vicious. And it’s also so bizarre, not afraid of true fire or cinnabar. It could also get into my body and drain my spirit. How could ordinary evil spirits do this…..even when that thing was with the Xiao family back then, it could only take over the body, not like it is now. 

As he spoke, Qiao Yang’s voice was deeply confused.

“I don’t get it, what the hell is that thing? Classmate Xiu, what did you offer it? Why is it so powerful?”

Just as Qiao Yang muttered this, Teacher Xu’s cell phone suddenly rang.

“Teacher Xu?”

“What happened?”

Xu Qinghe couldn’t control his emotions for a moment, and the atmosphere in the vehicle became tense. The other two people in the car fixed their eyes on Teacher Xu. There was a hint of panic in his voice.

But at this time, even for a person as tranquil as Teacher Xu, there was no way for him to bolster his spirits and pretend like nothing had happened.

After all, the person who sent the call was a fellow disciple.

And the phone was playing a video on repeat of surveillance taken from a funeral home.

The blurry lens faced a mausoleum.

Teacher Xu knew at a glance that this was where Grandmother Li’s body was resting. Li Xiu had still been hospitalized at that time, so his grandmother’s funeral affairs had all been arranged by Teacher Xu. And at this time, his grandmother’s coffin lid was being pushed away bit by bit without anyone touching it.

Immediately after, the gray-faced old woman sat straight up in her coffin.

Her eyes were gray and cloudy.

When the mortician had arranged her appearance, he’d spread a thick layer of powder over her face, which looked particularly pale under the surveillance camera.

The body of the long-dead old lady twitched slightly, and then she climbed stiffly out of the coffin.

It could be seen clearly through the lens that when she stood on the ground, her heels were raised high.

The old woman walked stiffly out the door just like this and vanished from the security camera’s viewing range.

If not for the rapidly jumping timeline on the surveillance video, the scene before them would have been like a deliberately terrifying scene from a horror movie.

But Teacher Xu in front of the screen knew better than everyone else that this wasn’t a horror scene at all, but real life.

Li Xiu’s grandmother’s body had been reanimated.

The usually calm and gentle Teacher Xu finally cursed when he saw this scene. “What a pig brain I have, why didn’t I think of that?!”

Why hadn’t Li Yu’s ashes been found? The reason was very simple.

Before Grandmother Qi died, perhaps under her own will or perhaps having been bewitched by the ghost, she had hidden the ashes within her own body — indeed, she had eaten Li Yu’s ashes.

“No wonder it became so fierce—”

After a brief gaffe, Teacher Xu instantly figured everything out.

The original reason Lord Hong could move around in the outside world was simply because the ashes acted as his carrier. And now, it had a physical body.

“For evil spirits like this one, once they have a physical body, it is equivalent to manifesting a form. And once they have a form, they are difficult to disperse with immaterial exorcism spells and the like—”

As he thought of this, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Teacher Xu’s back.

“This won’t work, Li Xiu, I can’t let you stay here anymore. That ghost gege of yours is so obsessed with you that it won’t let you go easily. That thing will inevitably come back for you again.”

As he spoke, Teacher Xu hurriedly tightened the thermos top, started the car, and began to take Li Xiu away.

From Teacher Xu’s murmured words, Li Xiu also realized how urgent the situation was.

The frightened youth’s face was ashen.

“Fang Qian’an.”

At this moment, another pale-faced boy appeared in Li Qiu’s mind.

He unconsciously tightened his grip on Qiao Yang’s sleeve beside him and said quickly: “F-for example, if Lord Hong has become powerful like this, won’t he look for Fang Qian’an too? In the beginning, it was him who took me away……”

Teacher Xu froze when he heard Li Xiu’s question.

*

*

Knock knock knock.

In the Fang family’s duplex manor at the top of the building, Aunt Su carefully knocked on the closed door while holding a tray.

But after she knocked for a long time, the owner of the room still failed to open the door.

“Xiao Fang, ah…..” 

As Aunt Su stared at the motionless door, her expression changed. In the end, she couldn’t suppress the worry in her heart and called through the door: “If you’re angry, then just be angry, but you still need to eat. You haven’t eaten in several days. You’ll encounter problems if you keep starving yourself!”

She kept knocking on the door like this for a while, and in the end, it slowly opened.

A boy appeared behind the door.

“Stop knocking, I’m not angry.” Fang Qian’an rubbed his hair and said tiredly to the woman outside the door, “I just accidentally fell asleep.”

“Aiyo, Qian’an, did you do that?”

Before Aunt Su could relax, her eyes met the bright red bloodstains on the boy’s clothes and she asked in a fluster: “Aiyo, Qian’an, did you do that?”

Given this reminder by her, Fang Qian’an lowered his head and looked at the hem of his clothes. After staring blankly for a moment, he replied firmly: “…..I just happened to get a nosebleed. It’s no big deal. Hasn’t this been the case for a long time?”

After hearing his explanation, Aunt Su untensed a bit and muttered: “Not changing clothes even after a nosebleed, you almost scared me to death!”

Fang Qian’an did have such a problem. He often had nosebleeds ever since childhood, which was said to be due to fragile blood veins in the nasal passage. But Aunt Su also knew that if he hadn’t been beaten as a child, Fang Qian’an wouldn’t have such a problem.

When she smelled the faint scent of blood on the boy, a trace of being unable to bear it flashed in her eyes.

“Then no matter what, this is the time to replenish your body. You just came out of the hospital. Eat a little something, don’t be stubborn out of anger,” she advised.

“Aunt Su, take it away. I just don’t have an appetite, I’m not being obstinate,” Fang Qian’an said word by word with no expression on his face. It was clearly an extremely handsome face, but right now it looked like he was wearing a plastic mask. 

And the originally comfortable and luxurious room behind him was already a mess.

Everything in the room that could be smashed was smashed, even a sofa and a solid wood desk that couldn’t be moved by two people. The corkwood boards on the walls also seemed to have been scratched by a wild beast, revealing the cement behind them. There were traces of violence everywhere, and not a single piece of furniture in the entire room was left intact.

Aunt Su looked at the room over Fang Qian’an’s shoulder, and her expression became increasingly bitter.

Who would have known that everywhere she looked was as tragic as a battlefield in Iraq? It turned out to be because Fang Qian’an had asked Fang Chengke for his cell phone, but to no avail.

In fact, for so many years, Aunt Su’s heart had been partial to Fang Qian’an.

She could see very clearly that Fang Qian’an’s father was a complete scumbag, regardless of his wealth.

However…..

After what happened a few days ago, even Aunt Su, who had taken care of the boy for so long, inevitably had an unexplainable fear of him…..

Whose family’s child went crazy and required specialized medical staff to sedate him?

Moreover, several tall, robust security guards rushed forward and almost couldn’t hold Fang Qian’an down.

It should be known that Fang Qian’an hadn’t eaten in several days at that time.

The most important thing was…..

Aunt Su had been hiding in the corner of the room when she caught sight of those eyes.

Fang Qian’an’s eyes seemed to have two pupils squeezed into the same socket.

Aunt Su didn’t know if she had seen it wrong, but when she went home, she had nightmares all night long and was even more frightened.

But once more, Aunt Su looked at Fang Qian’an and felt some pity. “Qian’an, this really isn’t necessary.” After swallowing her saliva, Aunt Su persuaded, “Didn’t I just give you my cell phone? Mr. Fang is also afraid that if you don’t get enough rest, your body will never recover. When the time comes, just be polite to your dad and ask him to return the phone to you…..”

Fang Qian’an could only scoff when he heard this. “Ha, didn’t he just want to take away my phone? And if he really wanted me to rest well, why did he take me out of the hospital in such a hurry?”

As soon as Teacher Xu left, Fang Qian’an was escorted back to the Fang family manor by his father, who said that the conditions for recovery would be better at home.

“He just didn’t want to wait and let them declare me a ‘mental patient.’”

There was no warmth in Fang Qian’an’s tone when speaking about his father.

Aunt Su’s heart tightened in a panic, and she just wanted to end the topic quickly. “Ah? How can you say that—”

But Fang Qian’an continued speaking regardless.

“It’s just like how he treated my mom back then. He was glad when she died, wasn’t he? Since I was a minor, custody rights belonged to the old man, and he could spend my mom’s money however he liked. Now that she’s dead, he’s terrified that I’ll take my mom’s inheritance. Doesn’t he just want to control me too?”

How could they be said to be father and son?

Fang Qian’an’s supposition really was possible.

Aunt Su’s white hair dampened with sweat, and she really didn’t dare to say anything more. She hurriedly placed the tray at Fang Qian’an’s door and made an excuse before leaving quickly.

Fang Qian’an gazed in the direction she had left, his eyes full of indifference.

With a click, he closed the door again.

He proceeded to ignore the tray at the door.

How many days had he gone without eating?

Fang Qian’an couldn’t really remember. But just as he’d told Aunt Su before, he really had no appetite.

Picking his way through the mess of furniture fragments, Fang Qian’an made his way to the bed which only had a mattress left and fell down with a plop.

The tall boy fazed at the ceiling and muttered faintly: “Fuck, I don’t know what’s going on with that weakling right now…..he should come to me if he has a conscience…..”

It was fine when he was in the hospital. Although Fang Chengke managed him strictly, he was still able to get some news about the other boy through Teacher Xu’s visits.

But now he was completely trapped here.

How irritating.

He wanted to find A-Xiu.

If he’d known earlier, he would have killed his old man…..

An intense, violent feeling spread throughout Fang Qian’an’s heart.

He would pull out the spine…..

Wouldn’t the old man’s blood spray everywhere?

At such an old age, the skin shouldn’t have much elasticity after it was peeled off.

And he had been sleeping around for so many years, so he was very unclean…..

Fang Qian’an didn’t notice that his eyes were quivering abnormally.

He absent-mindedly chewed on his knuckles until blood gushed out from the deep tooth marks.

But even the sweet taste of blood couldn’t slake the thirsty, restless feeling constantly surging within him. 

There seemed to be an unseen fire burning inside his body.

“A-Xiu…..”

As a last resort, Fang Qian’an shut his eyes and began to use that method to calm himself.

He sketched Li Xiu’s appearance bit by bit in his mind.

He had embraced the boy tightly that night.

Because the bed was very narrow and Li Xiu was cold after falling asleep, he had accidentally pulled him into an embrace.

Fang Qian’an even remembered the scent unique to Li Xiu he’d smelled in the darkness.

That was not at all the smell of cheap shower gel. Rather, it was the fragrance of sweet, warm blood under that snow-white skin.

[Hungry…..]

Fang Qian’an realized to some extent that there was something wrong with his mind.

Normal people wouldn’t think about their same-sex friend and get hungry and hard, right?

But he was too busy to worry about it too much.

There was only Li Xiu…..only his A-Xiu could calm him down.

Without knowing it, Fang Qian’an’s breathing calmed and he fell asleep.

A pool of dark blood gradually spread around his waist.

---

[1] Lin Zhengying is a Chinese actor who played a Taoist priest in many 80’s and 90’s movies. ⮐

---

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Chapter 49 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 51

Watching the situation in front of him, Liu Zhenqing had already come to a decision. Huo Fenglie to the side seemed to somewhat understand the issue, and breathed a sigh of relief. After all, Qiao Jin was the person Qing-ge had protected in the beginning, and was also his only living relative. If he actually had to draw his sword, Qing-ge would be sad.

And Qiao Jin had never experienced such ups and downs before. He suddenly blushed in embarrassment and glared at Liu Qiao: “Y-y-you! Why did you kiss me!”

Liu Qiao was somewhat impatient: “You made the request and I did it. What, do you intend to break your promise?!”

For Liu Qiao, this activity was very simple. As long as he could solve Master’s problems without swords being pointed at Qiao Jin, he could do such a small thing. Although he didn’t like to be too close to others, the other was the child he’d raised himself, so what was there to hate?

Qiao Jin’s face was still wet, his eyes wide. The youth’s bewilderment could not be concealed, and was painted across his face.

“I asked you to kiss me, and you did. Do you know what this means?”

It was like something that required traversing oceans of fire and mountains of swords to obtain, yet the other party gave alms to his poor self without a care. He wanted it, but was aggrieved when he got it. This feeling was truly indescribable.

Liu Qiao was no fool. Of course he knew what kissing meant. He had seen many couples and lovers in entertainment houses, and had watched Liu Zhenqing in person.

He was rather surprised that Qiao Jin would make such a request out of anger. In fact, he understood that Qiao Jin had made such an unreasonable request out of purposeful resistance to make him withdraw. But Liu Qiao had really underestimated him. Since Qiao Jin’s request had been fulfilled, he must keep his promise. Otherwise, Liu Qiao would beat him and teach this brat the meaning of dropping a rock on his own foot.

Liu Qiao said indifferently: “It was only a touch, and it’s not the first time.”

Qiao Jin was shocked to hear these words, and fury surged through his entire being: “Not the first time? Who was it! Was it Liu Zhenqing?!”

Liu Zhenqing, who was targeted even while hiding behind a tree, felt the gradually lowering air pressure of the one behind him. He immediately shook his head. How could it be possible? Even though he’d already explained things, why did this cheap cousin of his still think of him as a love rival, ah? But Liu Zhenqing was also quite surprised that this wasn’t Liu Qiao’s first time. Hadn’t he said that he’d never been attracted to any girl before? Could it have been a similar situation as today?

Liu Qiao said bluntly and unemotionally: “It was you.”

Qiao Jin froze, unable to believe his ears. “Me? When was this?”

“When I was being hunted and you fell ill, this was how I gave you medicine,” Liu Qiao said.

Qiao Jin stared at him in astonishment: “I…..I was still a child back then, this is different, this…..”

“What’s the difference?” Liu Qiao asked. This was still the same person, he’d just grown up. 

Seeing Qiao Jin’s current expression, Liu Qiao knew that his counterattack was extremely smart. It seemed he had become more clever after returning to his master, and simply helped resolve his master’s troubles.

Qiao Jin felt as if he was one step away from choking to death. But the little wolf cub was very intelligent, and quickly realized that he seemed to have accidentally found a way to keep Liu Qiao by his side.

He seemed to have never possessed anything since childhood but Liu Qiao. He wouldn’t give him up to anyone, and even if it was despicable, he would keep this person by his side.

“I keep my word. I’ll listen to Liu Zhenqing this time, but that doesn’t mean I’ll always listen to him in the future.”

Seeing Qiao Jin’s difficult-to-tame appearance, Liu Qiao frowned slightly.

“Unless…..” Qiao Jin gazed at Liu Qiao, his heart beating like a drum. “Unless you…..”

“Cough, cough, cough.” A sound interrupted Qiao Jin’s words.

Qiao Jin turned around unhappily to see Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie walk out from behind a tree in the distance.

Liu Zhenqing gave Qiao Jin a helpless look, then glared at the black-hearted wolf cub. If he didn’t come out, there was no telling what excessive demands Qiao Jin would make to coax Liu Qiao. Liu Qiao was still acting as if he hadn’t been taken advantage of at all, and Liu Zhenqing had no intention of selling Qiaoqiao to the wolf cub.

Liu Qiao saw them approaching and said: “Master, he agreed to cooperate.”

Liu Zhenqing stepped forward awkwardly and patted Liu Qiao on the shoulder: “Qiaoqiao, ah, never mind him cooperating. I have plenty of ways to deal with him, you don’t have to agree to any of his requests.”

Qiao Jin immediately glowered at him.

Liu Qiao had naturally noticed that Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie had been behind the tree before, and wasn’t embarrassed at all as he said: “It was only a kiss. That’s easy.”

The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s mouth twitched. As expected, Liu Qiao didn’t care much about this sort of thing. He could only say sincerely: “Qiaoqiao, something as intimate as kissing can only be done between couples who are in love with each other, not just anyone. This is especially true when someone uses it as a trade, with no sincerity at all.”

Liu Qiao stared blankly, unable to understand why his master was taking this so seriously.

Seeing that Liu Qiao still looked confused, Liu Zhenqing gestured to Huo Fenlgie beside him and said: “We can do this kind of thing.”

Huo Fenglie had been in a daze ever since Liu Zhenqing mentioned couples who were in love, and his expression changed slightly when Liu Zhenqing pointed at him.

Qing-ge…..was only making an excuse to educate Qiao Jin.

They were lovers who had kissed countless times, but…..were they in love?

He feared they wouldn’t be able to give Liu Qiao any positive teaching materials.

Liu Qiao’s eyes turned to the two of them. Although he felt it was unnecessary and was quite satisfied with his low-effort, big-reward deal, he would listen to whatever his master said. Thus, he gave a nod.

After educating Liu Qiao, Liu Zhenqing glanced at Qiao Jin and saw that he seemed resentful of his approach to things. He stepped forward and sneered: “Don’t bully him and take advantage of him for being ill-informed. Otherwise, I won’t be able to spare you.”

Liu Zhenqing’s voice was rather cold when he said this. Although Qiao Jin was his cousin, Liu Qiao was a family member he recognized as his younger brother, and he would naturally defend his shortcomings.

He had already suffered a big emotional loss with Bai Yu before. He didn’t want Liu Qiao to suffer in such a way again, so he had to guide him well.

Qiao Jin’s expression became a little unnatural, but his eyes remained stubborn. He just wanted to obtain Liu Qiao, even if he had to use tricks. He didn’t hide his ambition at all.

When he was fourteen years old and discovered that Liu Qiao was thinking of leaving, he “discovered” the so-called group of rebels. He intentionally involved the two of them so that in this way, Liu Qiao would have no intention of leaving. But when Liu Qiao realized that he could handle everything on his own, he planned to leave when Qiao Jin reached eighteen years old. It seemed this represented the completion of his task and he could go watch over Liu Zhenqing’s body, even though he didn’t know where Huo Fenglie had buried him.

But how could Qiao Jin allow him to leave? So he told Liu Qiao that when he rebelled, he would clear Liu Zhenqing’s name. The promised benefits were just a way to retain Liu Qiao, who wanted to leave. Because Qiao Jin knew that Liu Qiao would only compromise if it concerned Liu Zhenqing.

Unexpectedly, Liu Zhenqing came back to life and he lost any chance of winning.

From near-family dependence to a deterioration of emotions, Qiao Jin had no time to sort out his feelings. Liu Qiao was about to run away, and the kiss made Qiao Jin realize that in the face of someone like Liu Qiao, there was no other path before him. He was forced to mature and bypass the tangles and struggles, and in order to have no regrets, he had to go straight to the goal.

Qiao Jin took a deep breath. He glanced at Liu Qiao, then turned to Liu Zhenqing and said directly: “I won’t talk in circles with you. You know what I want. I’m willing to cooperate with you, but only on the premise that…..”

Liu Zhenqing cut in at once: “On the premise that you unite with us and behave yourself. Otherwise, regardless of the current situation and the emotions involved, do you think you have any chance of winning this contest? You still want to make conditions with me?”

Liu Zhenqing’s tone was beyond comprehension, and Qiao Jin almost jumped up and down in anger. He was truly in a pinch, because he indeed had no negotiable capital.

“Brat, you’re still a little too young. Don’t worry, I won’t bully you. Since Liu Qiao made a deal with you just now, you must obediently fulfill it. The only benefit I’ll give you is that I won’t object or hinder you. But don’t mess around with me. I’ll be watching. You understand what I’m getting at.”

This meant: You like Liu Qiao and can pursue him if you want, but proper methods must be used. As the one Liu Qiao recognizes as his master, I won’t interfere for personal gain.

“You…..” This wasn’t just bullying, it was bullying him to death. He had sold himself to Liu Zhenqing for nothing.

Smiling like a fox, Liu Zhenqing patted Qiao Jin on the shoulder and said: “Okay, it’s time to get down to business.”

Regarding the people in the capital, the rebels, and the situation behind all of this, Qiao Jin naturally knew more than Liu Qiao.

“I don’t know who the ultimate mastermind behind the people in the capital is, but I know that the current prime minister Jiang Wang is involved.” Qiao Jin directly dropped this bombshell piece of news.

“Jiang Wang?” Liu Zhenqing looked at Huo Fenglie.

Huo Fenglie could only frown, obviously confused as well.

Although this candidate wasn’t entirely unexpected since Liu Zhenqing had been a little suspicious of Jiang Wang since the imperial examination fraud case, he’d thought it had been all about profit. After all, if there were grievances among the common people, even if the emperor was blind, the prime minister couldn’t be unaware of it. Thus, there must be something wrong with Jiang Wang.

But based on Liu Zhenqing’s understanding of the then deputy prime minister, it was a bit contradictory for him to rebel. Not that this fellow was so loyal, but because his eldest daughter was the current Empress. If she gave birth to a child in the future, he would be the crown prince. With such a background, had he lost his mind? Joining the rebels?

Qiao Jin said: “You don’t believe me. I can’t be sure of the others, but I’m certain of this person. He was even the one who hired those martial arts masters to hunt us down back then. You don’t know how many injuries Liu Qiao suffered from that. His life hung from a single thread many times, leaving a lot of residual consequences. Even now, his body aches on rainy days and he can’t sleep.”

Liu Qiao nudged Qiao Jin in displeasure. Why mention him? When he looked up, he saw Liu Zhenqing regarding him with a worried look.

“Master, I’m fine. How can a martial arts practitioner be free of illness or injuries?” Liu Qiao said indifferently.

Liu Zhenqing sighed. He knew Liu Qiao was capable. Being targeted as his right-hand man, if Liu Qiao were any weaker, his ending would have been the same as Bai Yu’s.

“Let’s go back, come with me to Medical Valley and let my master nurse you back to health,” Liu Zhenqing said.

Liu Qiao hurriedly waved his hands, leveling a fierce glare at Qiao Jin.

Qiao Jin was just in a bad mood and wanted to avenge the injustices done to Liu Qiao. “In short, the people behind the scenes are hidden well and deeply. They are very powerful, and intend to kill the emperor.”

Because this plan involved the Western Shu Kingdom, Qiao Jin understood it relatively clearly.

It was the people in the capital’s plan from the time the Spring Plowing Ceremony assassination plot exposed the rebel remnants. They were waiting for an opportunity, preparing for Qiao Jin, who controlled the Western Shu Kingdom, to launch an attack here. This would lead Huo Fenglie to lead his troops to the southwest. And once fighting started in the southwest, Xiheng Kingdom would definitely get involved. In this way, Huo Fenglie and the Huo Family Army would be completely contained.

Then they would have the rebels hiding on the island in the southeast rebel, and use the students gathered in the capital for the imperial examination case to spread rumors. This would force the emperor to lead a personal expedition, leave the capital, and personally go down to deal with the rebels, where he would be assassinated.

But they never expected the emperor to send Huo Fenglie south from the beginning to investigate the imperial examination case. Nor that Huo Fenglie would completely unearth the rebels’ logistics, directly trace the rebels’ source, and cause their plans to be disrupted.

Because Huo Fenglie and his party moved so fast, the people in the capital had no time to lay the groundwork for a change in strategy. They could only watch on helplessly as all of the rebels were arrested. Without the excuse of the rebels to lure the emperor here, and without knowing where Huo Fenglie would be in the future, it was difficult for them to make plans.

Only then did the plot of the true and false King of Western Shu come into play. Qiao Jin didn’t know what they planned to do next, but in any case, the people in the capital had to trap Huo Fenglie here for at least two months. It was only that Qiao Jin hadn’t expected the combined forces of Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing to be so difficult to deal with, and had to resort to kidnapping.

After hearing Qiao Jin’s words, Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie knew that the delay was most likely for the Longevity Festival on the emperor’s birthday, which took place in a month. This was to ensure that Huo Fenglie wouldn’t be present at that time. The assassination should take place then.

But there was one thing Liu Zhenqing found extremely strange. “Who are they backing in the end? They don’t know of Yuan Jin’s existence.”

“What?” Qiao Jin looked at him with a furrowed brow.

Liu Zhenqing analyzed: “If they throw the country into chaos and seize the throne, who will sit on it? Although Great Zhou currently has various potential problems, overall it seems that the country is peaceful and the common people are safe. Emperor Yuan Jue is also diligent and loves the common people, while they will bear the infamy and be unpopular. If another member of the Yuan family succeeds Yuan Jue when he’s killed, it would be possible. But after the Three Kings Rebellion, the Yuan clan has all but withered away. Now, apart from you, there are only those in the palace, and the eldest little prince can’t walk yet.”

Qiao Jin stared blankly for a moment, then said at once: “You don’t think I’m putting an act on in front of you?”

Intelligent people sometimes think too much. Liu Zhenqing shook his head, saying: “I have no more doubts. If your identity is revealed, it will also arouse the suspicions of the courtiers and make them suspect that you’re of unorthodox blood.”

Qiao Jin scoffed.

Suddenly, Huo Fenglie spoke up: “There’s one more thing.”

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback, and looked at Huo Fenglie with some uncertainty.

Huo Fenglie said gravely: “There’s one more thing, have you forgotten? Yuan Jue also has a younger brother, King Jing. If something happens to Yuan Jue, he is the most likely to ascend the throne.”

Liu Zhenqing was frozen for a moment before he remembered who King Jing was.

That was the youngest son of the first crown prince. When he was born, he had the same fate as Yuan Jue. His mother died during childbirth, so he was taken and raised by the current Empress Dowager and the Taifei, the late emperor’s top concubine. When the new emperor ascended the throne, he was only three years old. He had been frail and sick since childhood and could hardly leave the palace, so his sense of presence was very weak.

King Jing would be near sixteen or seventeen now. Because Liu Zhenqing hadn’t heard of him since his rebirth, he nearly forgot about him, thinking that he had died of illness long ago.

Even Qiao Jin was puzzled: “There’s another king?”

Huo Fenglie briefly spoke of King Jing’s situation. The reason people didn’t know there was another king was because King Jing was away from the capital at all times. Since he had no official position or duties, he simply traveled the mountains and rivers, wandering with the clouds and wild cranes. He didn’t live like a member of the royal family at all. Even Huo Fenglie hadn’t seen King Jing for many years.

Liu Zhenqing’s thoughts were so: The chaos of the Three Kings must have left Yuan Jue with a considerable psychological shadow. He would never let any prince have real power again, not even his only brother. Being unfettered from worldly concerns was the best way to live a long and healthy life, and according to the Empress Dowager’s character, she probably taught him in this manner.

When Liu Zhenqing first faced the group of rebels, he was most worried that the person they intended to support was Yuan Jin. But now, after such calculations, King Jing had become the most likely target of suspicion.

Liu Qiao expressed his confusion: “How is that possible? Those rebels are the remnants of the Three Kings. How can they support King Jing? Are they stupid?”

“They’re not stupid, they’re just being used. They only know that they can kill Yuan Jue in revenge, so they don’t care about being used as a weapon.” Liu Zhenqing touched his chin, the figures of two women flashing through his mind.

Could the Empress Dowager and the Taifei be involved in these matters? They brought up King Jing, after all.

Then Liu Zhenqing asked about Prince Qiao An again. After all, the plan here required the cooperation of Qiao Jin and Prince Qiao An. Huo Fenglie was able to give the answer to this, because in his rage, he had tortured Prince Xiao An and interrogated him.

Qiao An was so frightened that he gave up everything, which was perfect for cross-checking the information given by Qiao Jin.

Speaking of Qiao An, Qiao Jin mentioned that the people in the capital must be suspicious of him, not because of his identity, but because they felt that his actions after being the King of Western Xu for some time seeme ambitious. This worried them, so the matter this time was arranged without notification.

They chose not to directly order Qiao Jin to attack Huo Fenglie, but waited until Prince Qiao An was sent over, using the news about the true and false kings of Shu to cause conflict. This left Qiao Jin with no choice but to cooperate temporarily. It was also a warning to him.

And as for the true prince, Qiao An, his reason for cooperating was very simple. He was almost assassinated by his family and went into exile, but was discovered and taken in by the forces in the capital. They didn’t choose to develop Qiao An, and only raised him as a young master. Then they sent a substitute to go back and become the King of Western Shu, ready to obey orders at all times.

This was equivalent to keeping the balance, as Qiao An’s existence could always be used to threaten the false king of Western Shu into compliance and keep him from having ulterior motives. They could also use the false King of Western Shu to make Qiao An understand that he could be replaced at any time, and that the decision-making power was always in the hands of the people in the capital.

Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but admire these imperial schemes. But considering Qiao An’s previous seduction attempts on Huo Fenglie, people’s hearts were really unpredictable. Prince Qiao An didn’t want to be completely controlled by others. He also wanted to escape this difficult situation, but had no other alternatives.

After figuring out the ins and outs of the matter, Liu Zhenqing looked at Huo Fenglie and said: “What do you think?”

Huo Fenglie always liked to listen to Liu Zhenqing, but the man was no longer the powerful minister he used to be and wouldn’t act in an arbitrary fashion. Now, he liked to ask Huo Fenglie for his opinion. After all, Huo Fenglie and Yuan Jue had a different sort of camaraderie.

“We must go back,” Huo Fenglie said at once. “Envoys from all over the world will come to the Longevity Festival. If something suddenly happens, other countries will immediately start a war.”

Liu Zhenqing nodded. He was about to speak, when he was interrupted by a mocking Qiao Jin.

“Didn’t you teach Yuan Jue? Liu Qiao keeps saying he’s better than me, but he didn’t notice a problem after seeing that shabby prince? If he’s killed by these rebels so easily, then he’s not worthy of being emperor. If King Jing can’t do it, you might as well help me.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled: “You’re not convinced and think you’re better than Yuan Jue?”

“The two of you originally thought he was so good because you were close to him.” Qiao Jin rolled his eyes.

Liu Zhenqing shook his head, saying: “If Yuan Jue was in your position, he would never develop Western Shu like this, arousing suspicion among the people in the capital. Nor would he risk going into the city to meet us. It is impossible to delay Huo Fenglie by sending troops, and even less possible to use the double-edged sword of public opinion. You did the right thing by kidnapping me, but it was only possible with Liu Qiao’s superb skills. Everything else, you did wrong.”

Qiao Jin stared at Liu Zhenqing.

Liu Zhenqing smiled. “The most important thing is that Yuan Jue has no weaknesses. He will not let one person influence his emotions and decisions, but you have. You are too impulsive and reckless, with a heart of bloodshed. Being in charge of the Western Shu Kingdom is fine, but for Great Zhou, you are far from enough.”

Unconvinced, Qiao Jin said: “Who says that? Don’t our ancestors include the type who dedicated their entire world to one person?”

Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie both gave him strange looks, as if to say, what kind of emperor can be used for comparison? That was an unprecedented situation and couldn’t be used as an example.

Liu Zhenqing patted Qiao Jin and said: “It’s actually amazing that you could grow up freely like this. You don’t want to be the emperor anyway, so why compare yourself?”

Qiao Jin scoffed coldly.

Liu Zhenqing continued: “Your guess is correct, it’s impossible for Yuan Jue not to have noticed anything. I actually think Yuan Jue is taking advantage of the situation. He doesn’t know who’s behind the scenes, so he’s planning to lure the enemy out and annihilate them in one fell swoop.”

Huo Fenglie said with a frown: “Then I shouldn’t go back? Just play my part here?”

Liu Zhenqing shook his head. “Yuan Jue may not know their complete plan, but he’ll definitely hear about what happened here. So tell the truth, that you tortured Qiao An due to emotional impulse and some truths were revealed as a result. Let Yuan Jue determine if you should stay or go back. As for what Qiao Jin said, there’s no need to tell him.”

Although the information Qiao Jin provided was useful, without actual evidence, reporting it hastily would only arouse Yuan Jue’s suspicion.

“Emotional…..impulse?” Huo Fenglie stared blankly.

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “In any case, report whatever rumors are going around the army. Only in this way will they be true.”

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing with a complicated expression. According to Yuan Jue’s temperament, if he heard about this situation, they might be granted a marriage in the future. Had Qing-ge not considered this?

Liu Zhenqing noticed Huo Fenglie’s strange expression, then recalled the failed marriage proposal and felt a little unhappy. What, he didn’t want to spread rumors with him?

Then he must spread them. When it reached Yuan Jue’s ears, it would be spread all over the country. Let’s see how Er-gou hides then!

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Chapter One Hundred Twenty << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Two

Every time she passed the single ward where the young student was staying, the nurse couldn’t help but take another look.

Although most hospital workers had experienced strong winds and waves, this time things were indeed a bit strange.

The door of the ward had been sprinkled with a layer of white rice.

For the past week, two men would come over silently at night, move folding stools over and guard the door to the left and right like door gods, and then silently walk away once dawn arrived.

The nurse taking care of Li Xiu was also aware that there were several talismans taped under the boy’s bed. This matter naturally made the nurse a bit nervous. However, on the night Li Xiu arrived, orders came from above, telling her to turn a blind eye to it all and not ask any questions, and even more so to not tell Li Xiu about these strange things, so as not to frighten him.

“Of course, this is also for your safety. If you don’t ask more questions or delve into it, you won’t provoke anything…..”

The nurse thought about the meaning-laden words of the head nurse and shivered all over. After all, those foolish young people in horror movies who knew there was a tiger in the woods yet still went there were in the minority. The doctors and nurses going in and out of this ward all carried out these orders from above meticulously. They didn’t look too much or ask any questions, simply treating those strange arrangements like air.

But on such a quiet night, the nurse looked at the rice at Li Xiu’s door and had some doubts.

Avoiding the surveillance, the nurse carefully took out her cell phone and fearfully mentioned it in a private group chat.

[Am I overthinking things? Why is it so cold in the hallway tonight?]

[Wa, you’re playing with your phone on duty again. Aren’t you afraid of a nursing department inspection?]

Someone responded to her immediately.

[I don’t usually do this, but today is special.] The young nurse couldn’t help but take another glimpse of the door. [I’m particularly scared today.]

[You mean that room? Don’t look at it. The more you look at it, the more strange it’ll become.]

[Didn’t your bosses say not to make any inquiries?]

[But something really isn’t right today. When I passed by that ward, my back felt especially chilled.]

The more she looked at the discussion on her phone, the more afraid she became.

It felt like something was coming.

A chill hit her. The nurse’s hand shook, and she turned off the screen, shoving the phone back into a drawer.

There was silence all around. The air conditioner was turned too low, making her shiver from the cold.

The nurse subconsciously glanced at Li Xiu’s ward. Although the two men guarding the door looked strange, she felt a little more at ease with them accompanying her in the ward at night.

But with that glance, the nurse’s movements froze.

What was going on? Why…..why was the white rice at the door starting to turn red at a speed visible to the naked eye?

“Wu…..”

A faint whimper came from the closed ward.

“Not good!”

The moment the rice turned red, Xu Qinghe, who had been guarding the door in silence, jolted and immediately leapt to his feet.

“Li Xiu!”

Without hesitation, the older man kicked open the door of the ward and rushed in with Qiao Yang.

The lighting inside the ward was dim.

Light from the corridor poured into the room, allowing Xu Qinghe to see everything clearly.

He saw a huddled figure shivering on the bed, unable to move, with only a thin quilt covering him.

There was a person on top of that quilt.

Of course, that thing only looked like a person.

Its entire body was red, soft and moist like a hunk of flesh that had just lost its skin. With long, thin limbs and a large body, it nearly occupied the whole bed while lying on Li Xiu’s quilt.

And its face was currently covered in a paper mask.

The pale cheeks of the paper mask were soaked with blood, and a dark red outline under the white paper could be vaguely seen.

The eye sockets were gouged out, and the area below them was now wet with black and red blood.

It simply looked at Teacher Xu and Qiao Yang, who had just now barged into the room.

The scarlet lips on the mask that grinned all the way to its ears moved slightly, as if it was smiling.

Then a gust of wind blew and the strange, twisted figure suddenly vanished as if it had been a nightmare—

“Damn!” 

Teacher Xu’s expression shifted greatly. He reached into his pocket, and when he raised his hand again, he scattered out a large handful of newly-burned talisman paper.

Paper dust scattered inside the room. It seemed ordinary, but where the dust fell, there were many traces of light gray on all the walls of the ward.

One on top of another.

They looked vaguely like palm prints.

“Watch its marks!” Teacher Xu called out anxiously.

As his words fell, the palm prints that were originally only on the walls began to spread at an alarming speed.

Everyone in the room heard an odd and subtle slapping sound somewhere in the dark.

The palm prints stretched from the walls to the ceiling.

“T-Teacher, I can’t move—”

Xu Qinghe rushed toward Li Xiu on the bed. Just as he was about to reach out and take Li Xiu out from under the quilt, a chill abruptly spread from his wrist to his entire body.

Something crawled over him.

It was obviously insubstantial, but Teacher Xu was instantly unable to move.

All the joints in his body crackled, and there was a heavy weight on his shoulders.

Xu Qinghe bit the tip of his tongue and felt a stinging pain. His mouth filled with a fishy sweetness. The man swallowed a mouthful of blood and spoke with difficulty to the figure at hand: “Li Xiu…..take this…..and run…..”

As blood spurted from the tip of his tongue, the man regained a meager ability to move. Slowly, he handed a sheet of talisman paper toward Li Xiu.

However, he soon heard Li Xiu’s trembling cry.

“Teacher Xu, I’m not in bed…..who are you talking to? Wuwuwu…..”

Only then did Teacher Xiu realize that Li Xiu’s voice was coming from under the bed.

The youth’s face was paper-white as he peeked his head out from under the bed to look at the immobilized man above with terror.

In the fright just now, Li Xiu had hidden under the bed in order to avoid that “thing” that was following him everywhere.

Xu Qinghe gasped. He moved his eyes with difficulty.

Unable to change position, his field of vision was limited. He could only catch a glimpse in his peripheral vision of the blue-white hand with bloody fingertips stuck to his arm.

That thing was hiding under the quilt, gripping him firmly.

Without fire, the talisman spontaneously ignited at Xu Qinghe’s fingertips.

However, the life-saving talisman that was supposed to suppress dark things not only burned Xu Qinghe’s fingertips slightly, but also didn’t harm that thing.

Xu Qinghe’s expression sank slightly, and another mouthful of blood from his bitten tongue spurted out.

“Qiao Yang!” he shouted.

But Qiao Yang, who was supposed to watch his back, didn’t respond to his call.

[“Hahaha…..Xiao Qiao, ah…..”]

[“We’re all brothers. Qiao Yang, if you don’t play with us, you won’t be considered a friend.”]

[“Come, come, it’s not far ahead. Let’s have a drink.”]

In the ward occupied by only three people, several male voices could be faintly heard.

Laughing and joking, they lingered behind Xu Qinghe, next to Qiao Yang.

Light from the door shone in, casting long shadows on the floor.

Next to Qiao Yang’s shadow were several hazy figures.

Judging from their shadows, they seemed to have their arms slung intimately over Qiao Yang’s shoulders.

Qiao Yang was unknowingly being pushed by the shadows toward the ward’s window.

Now Teacher Xu could see the shadows next to Qiao Yang without much effort — how could they be Qiao Yang’s friends? They were the same people who had died in Qiming Secondary School before!

Everything from Song Cheng’s chest to his lower abdomen was torn open, his internal organs hanging out.

Wang Rongfa’s body was completely distorted and no longer human.

A rope was tied around Ou Yang’s neck, and the lower half of his body had fallen off due to extreme decay.

When he saw that those voices were about to bewitch Qiao Yang into jumping through the window, large beads of sweat dripped from Teacher Xu’s forehead.

His lips traced out words rapidly as lines of blood leaked from the corners of his mouth.

However, the scriptures Teacher Xu recited couldn’t be spoken aloud.

Qiao Yang was in danger, and he himself wasn’t faring much better.

His body shook continuously, the weight pressing down on his shoulders growing heavier and heavier…..

Strands of black hair hung down over the man, obscuring his vision.

A murky, ferocious female voice continuously murmured in his ear.

“They should all die…..”

There was a bloody cheek close to the side of Xu Qinghe’s face.

Because her tongue would fall from her broken jaw, everything the female ghost said was very unclear.

“I begged you to save him…..I begged so many people, ah…..”

“Save him, that’s my child, ah. He’s still so young…..”

“A-Yu…..my poor A-Yu…..How could anyone treat him like that…..”

“Yet why aren’t you willing to help me?”

There was an evil wind and resentment in the room. 

Teacher Xu’s face was pale, and he had difficulty breathing.

In his incrementally blurry vision, some very hazy scenes appeared—

A woman.

A woman who was extremely thin due to a fatal illness, yet still beautiful.

She knelt in front of a group of people and begged them to help her rescue her abused child.

However, after being asked for countless amounts of money and other fees, the people who had promised to expose the matter and get her custody back broke their promises without exception.

When the woman became more vocal and fierce, seeing that the situation might really be out of control……

Someone lifted her off the bed and pushed her out the window of the ward.

. . . . . . .

With the yin qi invading his soul, Xu Qinghe’s eyes, nose, and ears gradually oozed blood.

Even the blood seeping from the tip of his tongue was turning from bright red to pitch black.

The man’s body began to shake, and the moment he was about to collapse—

“Prosperity, democracy, civilization, harmony. Civilization—”

Li Xiu’s tearful voice sounded.

The youth had mustered the courage to crawl out from under the bed. While crying and reciting the core values of socialism, he grabbed the exercise book on the bedside table and threw it at the black shadow enveloping Teacher Xu.

Surprisingly, the black shadow that even a spiritual spell had difficulty affecting let out a shrill wail when it was hit by the exercise book.

The female ghost’s form dispersed slightly. The power suppressing Xu Qinghe relaxed for a moment — and he naturally didn’t miss this fleeting opportunity.

“In the name of the Tienfeng Sect, the great immortal subjugates demons, and evil is defeated. With eagles and hounds at the head, two generals hear the call and stand before the altar. The emperor proclaims divine power according to law and order, and demons and ghosts will be punished and sealed. The supreme holy power is vast and boundless, compelling obedience to the divine northern emperor—”

At his sharp shout, two balls of fire suddenly appeared in Teacher Xu’s hands.

The shadows trapping him immediately dispersed in the firelight.

Then, with quick steps, he rushed toward the window.

At this time, Qiao Yang had one foot on the windowsill, his body falling forward. He was just about to jump from the ward’s window. Xu Qinghe grasped Qiao Yang’s collar and threw  him back onto the floor.

“But we agreed, ah….. to go…..get a drink. Just one cup. My teacher…..told me something is wrong…..”

Qiao Yang’s eyes were still empty after being dragged back into the room. Mumbling continuously, he tried to climb back up onto the windowsill again.

Xu Qinghe didn’t hold back. In front of Li Xiu, who had lost his head in fear, he slapped Qiao Yang several times in the face.

Qiao Yang’s face swelled up at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Finally, the young man stretched out his neck and vomited several mouthfuls of black blood. Then he lost strength entirely and fell unmoving into Teacher Xu’s arms. 

“T-Teacher Xu…..”

Li Xiu stared at the young man motionless in Teacher Xu’s arms. His knees weakened and he couldn’t keep himself from falling to the floor.

As if guessing what had Li Xiu so panicked at this moment, he wiped his face and called out, “He’s not dead,” patting the limp disciple in his arms. 

“It’s just that the yin qi impacted his soul, so he has no strength for the time being. Don’t worry, he’ll wake up again later.”

As he spoke, Teacher Xu covered his mouth and coughed several times. Black blood dripped and oozed between his fingers.

The man looked at Li Xiu and said softly: “Fortunately…..fortunately you helped me, otherwise I really don’t know what would have happened…..”

Having said this, he used the hand that wasn’t wet with blood to hand the exercise book that had fallen to the ground to Li Xiu.

Li Xiu looked dumbly at Teacher Xu for a moment, then took the exercise book back and hugged it tightly in his arms.

“I, I thought it would be useless,” the youth said inanely.

“But I didn’t know what to do, so I just recited those words…..”

“Cough, cough. It was useful.” Teacher Xu coughed, smiling. “As I said, if you learn and study hard, you won’t need to fear these ghostly things.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh my god…..”

“What happened?”

There was a commotion outside the door.

Li Xiu opened his eyes to look toward the door, only to find nurses and security guards crowded there, looking at those of them in the room in bewilderment.

So much had obviously happened, yet they approached as if they had just now realized something was wrong.

---

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Chapter 48 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 50

Click.

The door to the ward opened.

An older man with a slightly tired expression walked out of the ward and was immediately greeted by a tall young man.

“Teacher. How’s it going? Did that student say anything?”

“Shh.”

Teacher Xu put his finger in front of his lips in a shushing gesture. Looking back at the closed door to the ward, he shook his head slightly.

Then he turned and walked toward the end of the corridor, where there was a small open window..

Xu Qinghe came to a stop in front of the window. He watched the bustling street for a moment, then opened his mouth and lamented to the young man beside him: 

“Qiao Yang, ah. That child just had to be targeted by something like this.”

The expression of the young man named Qiao Yang became grim.

He knew better than anyone that his teacher rarely spoke in such a heavy tone.

“I’ve already questioned Classmate Li Xiu. When he was deceived by Grandmother Qi into giving alms to Lord Hong in their home, he didn’t notice anything wrong and just chalked it up to the family’s elder fooling around.”

“How can that be?” Qiao Yang frowned, doubt flashing through his eyes. “Could that kid be lying? What the old woman brought home was…..was ‘Lord Hong.’ That thing is so vicious. An old woman and a kid giving alms are pretty much seeking death. After all these years, how could nothing have happened to this family?!”

Teacher Xu smiled bitterly and lifted a hand to silence Qiao Yang.

“That’s why I said this matter is so difficult to handle.”

The man removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Li Xiu said that Grandmother Qi always told him to see that thing as a relative, and also told him to call it ‘gege.’”

Recalling Li Xiu’s strange, complicated expression when he spoke of his “gege,” Teacher Xu’s heart sank a bit.

“I’m afraid Grandmother Qi’s gone crazy.” Qiao Yang held himself back over and over, but still couldn’t suppress a curse. “The Xiao family has been offering sacrifices for more than a hundred years, and it still hasn’t lost its vicious nature. She thought she could just take home an evil spirit that had wiped out an entire family and simply offer it rice, like she was raising a little two-bit devil from Southeast Asia. Calling it “gege” and treating it as family? Why do people’s brains get so muddled when they’re old…..”

“Whatever the case, Lord Hong actually responded to Li Xiu calling him ‘gege.’”

Qiao Yang hadn’t expected Teacher Xu to say such a thing, and was simply stunned: “How is that possible?”

Teacher Xu put on his glasses and asked: “Why would it not be possible?”

“Qiming has been safe and sound for so long, so how is it that Li Xiu only started running into trouble after he was bullied? Have you still not realized that those kids who encountered accidents bullied Li Xiu before?”

“Ah? Teacher, you—”

“I questioned Li Xiu’s teachers and classmates,” Teacher Xu sighed. “Students like him don’t fare well in Qiming. The missing Wang Rongfa and the dead Song Cheng were arrogant and domineering in school. Oh, right, there was also something wrong with that male teacher named Ou Yang. He probably also thought to put hands on Li Xiu, and was killed for it. Qiao Yang, what do you think this situation is similar to?”

“S-similar to what?”

Qiao Yang was slow to react.

Hating iron for not becoming steel, Teach Xu glanced at him and said in a low voice: “Isn’t this like when a family’s younger brother or sister is bullied, and the older one goes to help them?”

Qiao Yang was speechless: “Ah? Wait, but, those young students are missing or dead—”

“It’s an evil spirit, not a human being.”

Teacher Xu’s voice became extremely serious.

“Therefore, it can’t distinguish between good and evil. Li Xiu was bullied. If he had a living big brother, no matter how unreasonable he was, the most he would do was go to their door and beat up those bullying brats. But when this thing took action…..”

This time, Qiao Yang finally answered: “It just killed them.”

Teacher Xu nodded.

“Indeed. You see, this is the most frightening thing.”

A light flashed through Qiao Yang’s eyes. He looked carefully at his teacher beside him and tentatively spoke: “Then, Teacher, if that’s the case, will it be okay if we wait for that thing to calm down? It seems that all the students who bullied Li Xiu are dead now—”

Before he could finish speaking, Qiao Yang felt pain on his forehead. The always gentle Teacher Xu was currently furious, and smacked the young man in front of him on the forehead, cursing several times. 

“What do you mean ‘is it okay?’ Huh? Those were human lives! Human lives!” Veins popped out on the man’s forehead. “Even then, how could it be so simple? One must absolutely not use human thinking to speculate on such things. That Lord Hong seems to have truly accepted Li Xiu’s wish and become his ‘gege.’ What do you think it will do?”

“……” Qiao Yang covered his head and didn’t dare speak a word.

“It will only do its utmost to kill that student, take him away, and drag him into its world! Don’t you know that a family is uniform? A thing like Lord Hong doesn’t think about humans and ghosts having different paths to walk. It only thinks that since it is family, its family should be the same as it. What is a family if one person is alive and the other is dead? A dead person can’t come alive, but a living person can become a dead one!”

As Teacher Xu spoke word by word, his expression grew increasingly ugly: “The worst thing isn’t that Lord Hong intends to take Li Xiu away. The worst thing is that not only will it take Li Xiu away, it won’t stop there!”

“Ah?”

“Li Xiu said he was tricked into attending school in that world. Well, the classmates he met that time were all paper figure fakes, so he could tell them apart from real ones. So if Lord Hong feels that the paper figures aren’t good enough, wouldn’t he want to bring all of Li Xiu’s classmates over to keep him company? And if there are students, won’t there have to be a teacher?”

Qiao Yang’s face gradually went pale as he listened to Teacher Xu.

Although it sounded extremely absurd, when he considered the things he had been exposed to over the years, Qiao Yang had to admit that Teacher Xu’s words were not nonsense. 

If this matter wasn’t handled properly, the thing that wiped out the entire Xiao family, the thing that was just barely sealed with the help of spiritual masters across the country, might steal away the entire student body of Qiming.

Just to keep its beloved little brother company.

The silence lingering between master and disciple became unusually heavy.

After a long time, Qiao Yang rubbed his face and steeled himself to ask: “What should we do now?” The young man’s eyes flashed with unconcealed worry. “…..We’ve been searching that student’s house for so long. He said Li Yu’s urn is under the bed in the bedroom. We practically dug through the floor below it, but we found no sign of the urn, ah.”

Theoretically speaking, it wasn’t difficult to deal with something like Lord Hong, whose true body was sealed away with only some remnants left outside. All they needed to do was find the ashes stolen by Grandmother Qi. The ashes contaminated by Lord Hong’s aura could be burned clean using Violet Cinnabar True Fire, and once Lord Hong had nothing left to attach itself to, it could no longer cause any trouble.

But as Qiao Yang said, after discovering the problem, Teacher Xu sent people to Li Xiu’s home to collect Li Yu’s ashes, but found that the ashes that had been enshrined under the bed for over a decade had mysteriously vanished.

And Li Xiu didn’t seem like he was lying.

“There’s no other way. We need to find them,” Teacher Xu said in a deep voice.

As he spoke, he turned his head to gaze deeply at the ordinary-looking ward at the other end of the corridor. The frail youth whom the evil spirit regarded as “family” was in that ward.

Teacher Xu inexplicably thought of the question Li Xiu had called out after him before he left the ward.

“Teacher Xu?”

“En?”

“Will it let me go?”

Teacher Xu hadn’t answered the question directly at that time.

He told Li Xiu to rest well and not think too much, and to take good care of his body.

But in fact, the older man knew the answer to Li Xiu’s question better than anybody else.

No, it won’t let you go.

That thing will definitely come back for you.

*

*

Inside the ward.

Li Xiu sat in the hospital bed. After Teacher Xu left, he stared at the tightly closed door for a long time, then shuddered. Perhaps because he was so weak, or perhaps because he had suffered big a blow in life, Li Xiu constantly felt cold.

He used a remote control to turn up the heat, and pulled a blanket over himself.

He’d learned a lot from Teacher Xu today, and his mind was a bit of a mess. In order to calm down, Li Xiu simply picked up the practice questions Teacher Chen had sent over and finished half of them in one go. The high-intensity mental exertion left the already weak Li Xiu dizzy. Unknowingly, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

When woke up with an abrupt start, he found that he had slept until nighttime without realizing it.

It was silent inside the ward, and the night was dark outside the half-closed window.

The needle stuck into the back of his hand before he fell asleep was gone, and the IV had also been removed. Gel pens and the exercise book were neatly placed on the bedside table, and there was also a soft quilt over Li Xiu.

Half-sitting up in the hospital bed, Li Xiu sat and thought for a moment. He vaguely recalled that a nurse-jiejie seemed to have come in while he was sleeping.

She seemed to have called out to him a few times, but Li Xiu was sleeping deeply at that time and didn’t wake up.

Li Xiu took a look at his phone.

The sudden flare of light from the screen hurt his eyes. The time was 3 a.m.

In fact, Li Xiu had guessed that it was around this time before he checked.

Since his hospitalization, Li Xiu would inexplicably wake up at 3 a.m. almost every night.

Today was the same.

He was probably just too anxious.

Comforting himself, Li Xiu gritted his teeth and fell back on the hospital bed.

So cold…..

Li Xiu automatically opened the chat box with Fang Qian’an. Judging from the records, Fang Qian’an had sent a steady stream of nonsense, to which Li Xiu would only occasionally reply with one or two sentences.

It wasn’t like he’d thought Fang Qian’an’s nonsense had any merit before.

But now, he looked at that nonsense for a long time.

Teacher Xu hadn’t elaborated before, but since waking up, Li Xiu could probably guess that the “candles” brought to that other world for light were closely related to a person’s lifeline. In the end, Fang Qian’an had burned the entire candle in order to save him.

Therefore, after they were rescued, Fang Qian’an’s condition was much worse than Li Xiu’s. Since that day, he hadn’t received any messages from Fang Qian’an.

That idiot…..

Was he really okay now?

It was difficult for Li Xiu to hide the worry in his heart. His fingertips tapped back and forth on the dialogue box several times, but he didn’t sent a message.

It was so late.

He thought, I’ll wait until tomorrow. Li Xiu shrank under the quilt. The corners of his eyes felt slightly warm. Li Xiu touched the pillowcase and found that it was damp. Perhaps he’d accidentally cried in his dreams.

The hospital was eerily quiet late at night.

Li Xiu hid under the quilt. Loneliness slowly surged up like a rising tide. He’d initially wanted to sleep a little longer, but after lying in bed for a long while, he still couldn’t fall asleep. He could only open his eyes and stare blankly at the closed door to the ward.

The lights in the hospital corridor were always on, and from Li Xiu’s perspective, he could clearly see the faint light leaking into the room through the crack in the door.

When Teacher Xu was arranging a ward for him, perhaps considering everything he had gone through, he’d specially arranged a ward for him that was closest to the nurse’s station.

In the next few days, this became Li Xiu’s greatest psychological comfort.

…..Though he still didn’t sleep well at night.

Li Xiu should have felt at ease knowing that someone was watching over him just on the other side of the wall. However, even he himself didn’t know why he was in such a cold sweat while lying in bed.

Li Xiu’s heart was beating wildly out of control. His throat was tight and dry, and there was the faint taste of blood on his breath.

He held the quilt in a death grip, a voice inside of him shouting unceasingly.

Something isn’t quite right, he thought.

What was it……

Clearly, everything was the same as before. Clearly, the most difficult time had passed. Clearly, he was lying in a room only separated from the nurse’s station by a wall…..

Li Xiu’s breathing came heavy. His back was wet with cold sweat.

“Huff…..”

“Huff…..”

At this moment, he fixed his eyes on the door — the light under the door dimmed slightly as a figure flitted past.

Li Xiu subconsciously held his breath.

But soon, familiar rapid footsteps passed by the door to his ward.

Ah, that shadow must be the night shift nurse. Another ward must have called for the nurse’s assistance.

Li Xiu realized this belatedly.

He slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

But in the next second, he froze again.

“Huff…..”

There was the sound of breathing.

Li Xiu finally realized why he kept feeling that something was wrong.

It was the breathing sound.

He had clearly held his breath in fear just now, but the sound of heavy, turbid breathing could still be heard.

During the seven days he’d been hospitalized, this sound had been lingering around him faintly, overlapping with every breath of his own. So before, he just vaguely felt that something wasn’t right but couldn’t find the reason.

That accumulated uneasiness forced him to wake up involuntarily every night.

And just now, he finally heard the breathing of someone else who shouldn’t be in the ward.

……The sound was coming from underneath his bed.

Li Xiu clutched the quilt tightly. At this moment, the air inside the ward seemed to freeze.

But through the hospital bed mattress, the sound of breathing at once became extremely loud and clear.

Li Xiu did his utmost to hold his breath so that he could hear more clearly, but holding his breath in a state of extreme fear made his head spin.

Who was it?

No, he should say what…..was under the bed?

Li Xiu covered his mouth. His body shook uncontrollably.

Intense fear paralyzed him, but it was as if there was an invisible whip lashing him, and his survival instincts made him subconsciously want to determine what was under the bed.

“Huff……”

Was it an illusion?

Or was he having a panic attack?

Li Xiu tried hard to calm himself.

However, the faint sound of breathing grew closer. At least, to Li Xiu’s ears. And this time, the breathing he heard seemed…..like it was coming from beside him on the bed.

There was obviously only a narrow gap on that side, so how was someone breathing there?

Li Xiu was currently huddled under the quilt.

He didn’t dare to stick his head out.

Because he felt that if he lifted the quilt, he would see something that he never wanted to face in his lifetime.

Li Xiu’s heart was beating like it was about to burst out of his chest in the next second. He bit his lip, trembling, and then turned his phone to picture mode.

Using his fingertips, he pushed the top part of the phone through the gap between the quilt and the bed.

Then, hiding beneath the quilt, he slowly pressed the camera button.

The phone successfully took a series of photos.

Enduring the terror, Li Xiu slowly pulled the phone back under the quilt.

When he checked the photos he had just taken, Li Xiu shook so much that he almost couldn’t hang onto the phone.

Upon looking at the first photo, Li Xiu didn’t recognize what it was right away — he didn’t see a ghost, male or female, lying on his quilt, nor did he see the masked paper figures that once occupied his nightmares.

In fact, the screen was just a blur of black and red.

The center of the screen was black, with only a layer of scarlet at all four corners. Several pictures in a row were the same. It was almost like there was something wrong with his old phone’s camera.

All of the pictures were so blurry.

Li Xiu stared blankly at the screen of his mobile phone.

The epiphany came abruptly

It was at that moment that Li Xiu finally realized what he was seeing.

No, there was nothing wrong with his phone.

That thing was just too close.

So close that Li Xiu’s phone couldn’t adjust the focus, so when the photos were taken, it was just a mass of black and red.

The black was that thing’s pupil. 

And the red was the white of its eye filled with blood.

“A-Xiu, ah.”

Li Xiu heard a familiar elderly voice.

“A-Xiu, why haven’t you brought your gege food today?”

His grandmother, who had passed away a week ago, urged him the same as always.

But his grandmother’s voice had never been so vague during her lifetime.

A faint corpse-like odor mixed with the smell of disinfectant.

Even wrapped up tightly in the quilt, Li Xiu couldn’t isolate himself from the smell.

…..That was not his grandmother.

---

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Chapter 47 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 49