The funeral parlor owner looked displeased. “If I’m going to teach your disciple spirit channeling, but he’s not my disciple, then I’m not doing it.”
Feng Li lifted his eyes from the teacup. “If you’re unwilling, then prepare to watch the ‘spirit channeling technique’ fade into oblivion.”
The funeral parlor owner remained silent for a long while, then suddenly sighed. “Why do you say he’s suited for spirit channeling?”
“He doesn’t carry any yin elements in his birth chart, yet he attracts yin entities,” Feng Li said. “His body holds both yin and yang energies, perfectly balanced. Haven’t you noticed such a rare constitution?”
The funeral parlor owner replied lazily, “My eyes have never been as sharp as yours. Besides, I’ve only met your disciple a handful of times. Not noticing it is pretty normal.”
Jiang Luo couldn’t help but glance deeply at the funeral parlor owner.
He was talking nonsense.
Back when Jiang Luo wanted to activate the Yin-Yang hoop, this same funeral parlor owner had clearly said: “Your body carries deathly aura, your soul has yang energy, interwoven yin and yang—truly rare.” Not only that, he also said: “You’ve got good luck. Your spirit clings closely to your body. Yin and yang merge perfectly.”
These words were far more detailed than what Feng Li just said.
So clearly, he had long since seen through Jiang Luo’s unique constitution. Why lie to Feng Li now?
Wasn’t he worried Jiang Luo would expose him?
The funeral parlor owner remained completely unfazed under Jiang Luo’s gaze. Jiang Luo withdrew his eyes, choosing not to expose the lie, instead quietly listening to the two men speak.
Interesting. This funeral parlor owner had secrets.
Feng Li said, “Just take him on a walk around the hospital cemetery and you’ll understand. With such a gift, not learning spirit channeling would be a waste. Ji Yaozi, are you going to teach him or not?”
The funeral parlor owner deflected calmly, “That’s not for me to decide. I’ll have to see his abilities first before making a decision.”
Feng Li didn’t press. He simply nodded slightly and put down his teacup.
The funeral parlor owner turned to Jiang Luo again. “Do you know what ‘spirit channeling’ is?”
Jiang Luo answered properly, “I do not.”
The funeral parlor owner said, “Then try to guess.”
“…” Jiang Luo smiled politely. “Channeling spirits… probably means communicating with the dead?”
He thought of the time at the 129 Hotel when he had come into contact with the black aura of the boss lady. The moment he touched it, he had felt her lingering obsession and emotions.
Like possession—but not quite. Could spirit channeling be a technique like that?
The funeral parlor owner nodded, then shook his head. “If that’s all you think it is, then your understanding is far too narrow.”
Jiang Luo asked humbly, “Please enlighten me.”
“All things have spirits. It’s far more than just interacting with the dead,” the funeral parlor owner said—but didn’t continue explaining. Instead, he shifted topics. “To learn spirit channeling, it’s best to remain physically pure. If you’re going to invite a spirit into your body, you need a clean vessel—untainted and pure—only then will righteous spirits favor you and respond in times of danger. But if you’ve already had sex, if you’re not pure, then the spirits you attract will be evil. And inviting an malicious ghost is easy—sending it away is the hard part. You could be possessed, harmed, even killed.”
From his first sentence, Jiang Luo visibly froze.
Feng Li didn’t notice his reaction and said naturally, “Of course he’s still pure.”
The funeral parlor owner looked Jiang Luo up and down. “This good-looking and still doesn’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend?”
Jiang Luo looked at the two of them, and in his mind, quickly outlined a dramatic script. His expression slowly shifted into one of shame. His eyes reddened.
If he kept pretending now, he’d only make things worse later. It was better to be honest now and control the narrative.
He didn’t trust Feng Li. Feng Li prioritized the Heavenly Master Residence. Jiang Luo knew he wasn’t important enough for Feng Li to go against the Qi or Chi families for him.
The facts spoke for themselves. Even though he was Feng Li’s disciple, the Qi and Chi families still dared to try to kill him. The Chi family even drugged him. That meant one of two things: either they had Feng Li’s tacit approval and weren’t afraid of Jiang Luo tattling—or they simply weren’t afraid of Feng Li.
Considering how the Chi family was always fawning over Feng Li, the latter could be ruled out.
But seeing how Feng Li still thought he was a virgin, it was likely that even if Feng Li knew the Qi and Chi families wanted to harm him, he didn’t know exactly what they had done.
Even if Feng Li wouldn’t stand up for Jiang Luo, sowing discord between the Heavenly Master Residence and the Qi and Chi families would still be worth it. Reporting them was worth it.
His lips were tightly pressed, faintly pale, fists clenched — looking as if he had just suffered a tremendous humiliation.
The funeral parlor owner was taken aback. He sat upright. “What’s going on?”
Feng Li furrowed his brows and said in a deep voice, “Speak.”
Jiang Luo wiped at his eyes, speaking with restraint: “Master, when I was on the ship for the mission, I was drugged by a group of people. I think they were from the Chi family. They said they wanted to use me to draw out Chi You. That drug was vile beyond words, I… I lost my virginity that night.”
The black-haired youth wore a pained expression, clearly unwilling to recall the experience. In just a few words, he glossed over the entire event — but the despair in them was apparent.
As a gifted youth with a bright future, to be violated by someone due to being drugged, and forced into submission by a malicious ghost — it was a humiliation beyond words, enough to drive one to fury. Who could use such a shameless tactic?
The funeral parlor owner was dumbstruck. “You and Chi, Chi You—”
Bang! A sudden crash echoed through the room — the solid wooden table in front of Feng Li instantly shattered into pieces.
The items on the table clattered to the floor. The teacup shattered, and tea leaves scattered everywhere.
A porcelain shard rolled to a stop right at Jiang Luo’s feet.
The other two in the room immediately held their breath, glancing at Feng Li in shock and confusion.
Feng Li’s expression was unreadable. He didn’t appear angry, but the aura around him was terrifying — thick and suffocating, almost tangible. Table debris clung to his robes. Clad in traditional Tang attire, the Heavenly Master looked like a statue concealing turbulent emotions. Without a ripple in his voice, he asked, “They drugged you, causing you to lose your virginity?”
Feng Li looked extremely calm — but it was a calm that made one’s heart tremble.
“Yes, I…”
The floor beneath Feng Li cracked. The fissures spiderwebbed outward, spreading ominously.
Feng Li’s eyes were dark and deep. He wordlessly turned the jade ring on his finger. Jiang Luo promptly shut his mouth.
The air grew stifling, even breathing felt heavy. Suddenly, the funeral parlor owner stood up, hurriedly walked to Jiang Luo, and barked, “Lift your shirt. Let me see your waist!”
Jiang Luo looked confused. “My waist?”
The funeral parlor owner had no time to explain. He reached out and pulled up Jiang Luo’s shirt. He only needed to lift it slightly — on the youth’s slender white waist, in an inconspicuous spot, were three tiny moles.
Red, like they’d been painted on, quietly resting on the pale skin of his waist.
Following his gaze, Jiang Luo looked down and finally noticed the three small moles. He touched them, startled. “When did these appear?”
They were in a hidden place. A few days ago when his body was still covered in hickeys, these moles were probably concealed. In the past few days, Jiang Luo had been avoiding looking at those marks during baths, so he hadn’t noticed the change on his body until now.
The funeral parlor owner’s face turned grim. He muttered, “This is bad… this is very bad…”
His expression made Jiang Luo uneasy. His eyelid twitched a few times. “What do these moles mean?”
Could it be that finally losing his virginity actually brought him more trouble?
Just after he spoke, he felt a shadow approach. Looking up, he saw Feng Li walking toward him.
The funeral parlor owner stepped aside, solemnly saying to Feng Li, “Take a look.”
Feng Li extended his hand, his cool fingers lifting Jiang Luo’s shirt. He looked down.
The three small moles were clearly visible. His fingertips brushed lightly over them, and a chill emanated from his body.
“He really did sleep with Chi You,” the funeral parlor owner said, pained, his brows knitted tight. “Even the Chi family’s direct-line curse has spread onto him.”
Jiang Luo: “…What did you say?”
The Chi family’s direct-line curse?!
“Since you and Chi You had that kind of relationship, you probably know that no direct-line member of the Chi family has lived past thirty,” the funeral parlor owner said, his gaze complicated. “Rumor says it’s because the spiritual bodies of the direct line are too strong, their physical bodies can’t withstand it, so they all die young. But if you think about it, that doesn’t really make sense. The Chi direct line doesn’t only include those surnamed Chi. They have spouses too. Yet the women who married into the Chi family also die before they’re thirty.”
“Very few people know this. We suspect it’s a curse placed on the direct bloodline. No one knows who cast it, or what it truly is. But everyone who has had a conjugal relationship with a Chi direct descendant ends up with these three moles on their waist — and dies before thirty.”
“Because of this curse, the Chi family’s direct line has an utterly rotten reputation in private.”
Jiang Luo’s face turned green. Hearing this, something flickered in his mind.
Something didn’t feel right…
Before he could grasp it, the funeral parlor owner sighed. “Chi You is already dead. And yet…”
Jiang Luo’s fury reignited. He suddenly remembered the original novel had repeatedly described the three moles on Chi You’s waist. He had thought it was just a physical trait. Who could have guessed it actually had this kind of meaning?
D*mn it.
Getting humiliated in bed by an enemy wasn’t enough — it even came with a curse attached. Even though Jiang Luo had been the one in control during that night of lust, he still couldn’t feel happy about it.
And he had been the one teaching Chi You how to have sex with him. All he could say now was: what rotten luck.
Jiang Luo took a deep breath and asked the one thing he cared about most: “How can I break the curse?”
Jiang Luo didn’t want to die.
He really, really didn’t want to die.
Ever since falling into this dangerously lethal world, from the very first day, Jiang Luo had been doing everything he could — just to stay alive.
He had an intense will to survive. Although Jiang Luo often flirted with danger on the edge of life and death, each time, he managed to burst forth with a powerful vitality in the midst of crisis. This feeling of clawing life from the jaws of danger made Jiang Luo addicted to the point that his scalp tingled—but liking danger and thrill didn’t mean he wanted an ending where he was doomed to die before thirty.
This made Jiang Luo so furious he actually laughed.
At this moment, aside from cursing Chi You, his hatred and killing intent toward the Chi family surged to an unprecedented new height.
The Chi family deserved to die.
The desire to destroy the Chi family and break the curse grew stronger. A heavy, murderous aura brewed in Jiang Luo’s heart. He suppressed this violence and stared directly at the funeral parlor owner, waiting for his answer.
The funeral parlor owner gave a bitter smile. “Even Chi You died before thirty… Who else could possibly have a way out?”
Jiang Luo’s expression turned cold.
Feng Li released his shirt hem, turned without a word, and walked out expressionlessly. “Prepare the car. We’re going to the Lian family.”
