The Chi family’s main bloodline utterly abhors ghost markings. Chi You himself has deeply complicated feelings about them. But his goal had always been clear: to strip away the ghost markings and live on as a “human.”
He did not want to become a ghost.
But his future self had let him down. The future Chi You had already become a heartless, deranged, and twisted malicious ghost.
Chi You gritted his teeth and grabbed at the older Chi You’s trouser leg, dragging it down, voice cold: “You’re not human anymore.”
The older Chi You raised his head and looked at a tree nearby. From its withered branches, dark-eyed birds stared silently at them.
A deathly stillness emanated from his body. Then, he laughed—a soft, pleased kind of laugh.
“What a naive thought,” he said.
“Death… only lets me be reborn.”
….
After calculating the time, Jiang Luo returned to the lake with the pen and paper. By the time he arrived, Chi You was already standing. Though covered in blood and filth, there was no visible trace of pain on his face.
He even smiled as he took the paper and pen. “Thank you, Young Master Jiang.”
Then, he walked over to Chi Tian.
His hand still trembled slightly as he began to write. Keeping his expression calm, Chi You avoided Jiang Luo’s sightline and quickly wrote out a confession.
Afterward, he grabbed Chi Tian’s hand, smeared it with the blood on his own face, and pressed a fingerprint onto the confession.
Chi You folded the document carefully. Still feeling it wasn’t enough, he then ripped off Chi Tian’s clothing. Claw marks covered Chi Tian’s back—clear signs of a woman’s desperate struggle. It was the most convincing evidence.
Just as he finished, the hurried sound of footsteps approached. A large group of Chi family elders arrived, led by the servants.
These elders came with shuffling steps and faces full of fury—clearly ready to make trouble. Jiang Luo was immediately irritated by the sight of them. In the outer world, he’d been sent to the Lian family before he could get revenge on the Chi family. Now, in this mirror world, they were even worse—absolutely insufferable.
It would be great if he could just kill them all in one go.
Chi You seemed to sense his impatience. He said quietly, “You should head back to the room first.”
“Don’t worry,” his eyes darkened slightly. “I’ll come find you shortly.”
The future Chi You was a malicious ghost. The present Chi You was a venomous snake. Jiang Luo wasn’t worried about either version.
Not wanting to watch a scene that would only make him angry, he decisively left the battlefield. But he didn’t return to the room—instead, he went to find Lian Xue and the others.
Lian Xue had just calmed Li Xiao down. When she saw Jiang Luo, she sighed, “Li Xiao’s terrified. She thinks she’ll be the next to die.”
“Well, I’d be scared too. It’s always the girls from her batch who are dying…” she added. “Senior brother, we should really find a way out of this mirror world soon. I’ve got a really bad feeling.”
Jiang Luo felt the same. Once he returned to the room, he wrote out all the known information so far, then carefully lit the paper on fire over a candle.
Suddenly, there came three knocks from outside the door.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
A shadow lingered outside.
It was still daytime. In the mirror world, ghosts only appeared at night, so Jiang Luo opened the door without concern. But once the door swung open, the figure standing outside—though not a grotesque ghost—was something even more terrifying: a malicious ghost.
The young master in military uniform stepped inside. The door shut behind him with a tight, seamless click.
Jiang Luo only raised an eyebrow slightly before slipping into his role. He stepped back a few paces with feigned confusion. “Young Master, what brings you here?”
The young master removed his military cap and placed it gently on the table. He leisurely sat down beside it. The malicious ghost had no intention of exposing Jiang Luo’s act, instead playing along with a half-smile. “Madam Chi, naturally I’m here to ask you about your husband, Chi You,” he paused slightly, then continued with a hint of amusement, “whether he went out killing last night.”
To be called “Madam Chi” by the future Chi You—it was beyond strange. Jiang Luo lowered his eyes, fully immersed in the role. His brow furrowed, as if struggling to suppress his anger. “Young Master, I already said at the lake. He was with me the entire night. I can testify—he never left.”
The young master asked, “How do you intend to prove that?”
Jiang Luo replied, “Aren’t the hickeys on his neck proof enough?”
The young master’s smile faltered for a beat—then deepened. He tapped the table, drawing out his words. “Excellent.”
He stood, unfastening the cape from his shoulders. The sharp-cut, dark-gray military uniform radiated pressure like a blade as he stepped toward Jiang Luo. “From now on, pretend I’m Chi You from last night. Show me exactly what the two of you did.”
Jiang Luo widened his eyes. “That’s… inappropriate, isn’t it?”
“You’re unwilling?” The young master stopped, his deep-set eyes fixed on Jiang Luo with oppressive force. “If you don’t cooperate, I’ll have to reconsider whether your testimony is credible. I’m sure Young Master Chi would be happy to accompany us for questioning.”
Now that’s a performance!
Jiang Luo almost broke character from delight. He snapped, as if angry, “You!”
The young master remained composed. “What does Young Master Jiang say?”
After a long internal struggle, Jiang Luo finally nodded, pale-faced. “Fine.”
The young master stepped in front of him.
Jiang Luo reached up to rest a hand on his shoulder, the panic on his face fading, replaced by a playful smile. “Young Master Chi, it’s getting late. Let’s go to bed.”
“Indeed, time to rest,” the malicious ghost wrapped an arm around his waist, gently guiding him toward the bed. “What did Madam do today?”
Their steps were slow and fluid, like a languid pas de deux.
Jiang Luo’s hand slid from the back of the malicious ghost’s head down to his neck. “I did many boring things. None as interesting as being with you.”
The malicious ghost chuckled and suddenly pressed Jiang Luo down onto the bed. “Is that so?”
Jiang Luo’s black hair splayed across the red bedding. One long leg was pinned to the bed, the other dangled over the side, toes just brushing air.
He showed no fear, and even seemed eager to keep acting. “Young Master Chi, do you remember what you promised me earlier today?”
The malicious ghost loomed over Jiang Luo, his form enveloping him. The chill of ghostly energy radiated off him in waves. In this dangerously possessive position, Jiang Luo couldn’t help but recall their last intimate encounter.
At the time, he hadn’t known Chi You had such a past.
Wielding control over the malicious ghost in bed had been an entertaining experience. Now Jiang Luo’s mischief rose again. He wanted to toy with him one more time—tempt him, then leave him wanting.
The malicious ghost asked, “What promise?”
Jiang Luo blinked and teased, “To bark like a puppy.”
The malicious ghost narrowed his eyes.
Jiang Luo said innocently, “Is Young Master Chi going to go back on his word?”
This little “re-enactment” clearly left Jiang Luo in control. The malicious ghost slowly played along, voice cool: “Yes, I’m going back on my word.”
Jiang Luo choked on his own reply, rolling his eyes. His tone sharpened slightly, “Young Master, last night you were very obedient and barked like a little puppy.”
The malicious ghost lowered his head, gazing down at Jiang Luo. He drawled slowly, “Oh really?”
Jiang Luo nodded earnestly.
The malicious ghost said, “Young Master Jiang, let’s skip this pointless chatter and get to the heart of the matter.”
“For example,” he leaned in, black eyes nearing Jiang Luo’s, “what else did you two do after that?”
In those eyes, Jiang Luo seemed to glimpse an approaching storm—still, on the surface, but roiling underneath, capable of shattering everything.
He seemed to care very much whether Jiang Luo had gotten that close with the Chi You of the mirror world.
Jiang Luo suddenly became excited.
He loved provoking Chi You. The more upset Chi You got, the happier he became. And if it upset the malicious ghost—then all the more reason to do it.
“We did a lot,” Jiang Luo lazily smiled at him, then suddenly took the malicious ghost’s hand, pressing it to his own cheek. Slowly, he guided the malicious ghost’s hand downward—from his jaw to his Adam’s apple. “Young Master Chi, have you forgotten? Last night, you touched me here…”
He moved the malicious ghost’s hand down to his chest, then along the curve of his waist. “And here.”
The black-haired youth laid on the red bedding, lips tinged with crimson, his body taut. The malicious ghost could feel the tremble in his throat as he spoke, the flutter of his chest, the firm softness beneath his fingers.
The malicious ghost, despite himself, grew more and more engrossed—as if he truly were the character he played.
Every move Jiang Luo made was deliberately tempting. But even knowing it was a trap, the hunter still stepped forward, willingly caught.
He had struck every nerve the malicious ghost had, with precision.
Dark fire surged in the ghost’s eyes. The strength of his grip on Jiang Luo’s wrist tightened bit by bit.
The desire hidden beneath his skin was now completely exposed through his force—growing thicker and stronger with every second.
“And then…”
Jiang Luo slowly sat up, and the ghost followed suit, rising slightly to sit beside him. Jiang Luo gave the ghost a meaningful smile, reached for the rope that tied back the bed curtains, and used it to bind the ghost’s hands behind his back. “Then, Young Master Chi got tied up by me.”
The ghost let him do as he pleased, lounging casually against the edge of the bed with a relaxed posture. “Oh? And after that?”
Jiang Luo gave an embarrassed laugh. “What happened after that… isn’t quite suitable to reenact with the Young Master.”
The corner of the ghost’s lips curved high. “But if you don’t show me, how will I know what happened between you two?”
Jiang Luo raised a brow, just about to speak, when he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door. A figure passed by the window, approaching the entrance.
The figure was incredibly familiar—Mirror World’s Chi You had returned.
