When facing the Fated One, Jiang Luo still wore a gentle smile. But the moment he turned away, his expression turned blank and unreadable.
He walked toward Chi You, each step steady and deliberate, his smile empty and insincere.
Reading love letters aloud in public, practically shouting them for the whole world to hear—this wasn’t flirting anymore, this was a full-on provocation.
Especially with the mastermind being Chi You.
Chi You wasn’t someone who would do something so foolish—there had to be more behind this.
—Whatever the deeper meaning was, Jiang Luo had already made up his mind to sacrifice him to the heavens.
After such a showy and humiliating act in front of his doorstep, how could Jiang Luo pretend he hadn’t seen it? This was a perfect opportunity to deceive the Fated One and use a serious injury to Chi You as a trade for his trust. That deal was more than worth it.
When Ge Wuchen saw Jiang Luo walking over, he nodded with satisfaction and quickly stepped to Chi You’s side. “Master, Benefactor Jiang is coming.”
Chi You said, “I saw.”
The corners of his mouth lifted as he said with amusement, “You’ve done well.”
Ge Wuchen smiled confidently and pressed his palms together respectfully. “As long as I can be of help to you, I am content.”
Nearby, Lisa was sitting on the ground licking a lollipop, her wide, watery eyes unblinking as she watched them. When they finished speaking, she bit down on her lollipop with a crisp “crunch, crunch” and asked, “Will the pretty brother join us?”
She still thought the boss was trying to recruit Jiang Luo.
As a creature from the deep sea, Lisa didn’t understand the full weight of this ritual.
Her eyes were full of innocent confusion. Every time Ge Wuchen looked at her, he was reminded of the young Ge Zhu. He took out another lollipop from his pocket and handed it to Lisa. “He will.”
After urging his master to stage this entire “hundred ghosts wedding procession,” Ge Wuchen had almost gathered all of Chi You’s most valued subordinates, just to show Jiang Luo their master’s sincerity—enough to win over his heart. Except for Liao Si, who was unwell, and Teng Bi, who couldn’t risk blowing his undercover identity, almost everyone that needed to be here had arrived.
Ge Wuchen had never been in love, but as a borderline internet addict, he had his own theories about matchmaking.
A setting this romantic and grand, giving Jiang Luo face and vanity, paired with a master who had near-perfect qualities—Ge Wuchen couldn’t believe Jiang Luo wouldn’t be moved.
Compared to the outcome he had already anticipated, Ge Wuchen was more concerned with the Fated One standing on the mountaintop.
He looked at that distant figure with a complicated expression and said with a hint of mockery, “Master, you were right. As long as you’re alive, we’ll never find him. But the moment you died, he appeared right before us.”
Huali walked over and sneered coldly, “The rat finally stopped hiding.”
But despite his words, Huali’s entire body was tense, his hair standing on end.
Ge Wuchen was no different.
No one knew how powerful the Fated One truly was, nor where his limits lay. Facing an opponent like that was like standing before an unfathomable abyss—it was impossible not to feel fear.
But Chi You merely gave the Fated One a glance, then shifted his gaze back to Jiang Luo.
“Now is not the time to face him.”
His calm voice immediately brought Ge Wuchen and Huali back to their senses. Ge Wuchen smiled with a hint of pity and rotated his prayer beads, then changed the topic. “One of our original reasons for keeping the Qi and Chi families intact was to use them to locate the Fated One. Now that the Fated One has appeared, the Chi family… Master can deal with them later. But the Qi family—shouldn’t we settle our accounts with them now?”
Huali crossed his arms and nodded. “Liao Si is still waiting for us in the Qi family.”
Ge Wuchen added lightly, “I heard Liao Si has taken a liking to Qi Ye’s body, and he even wants to—”
Before he could finish, a flash of golden light shot toward Ge Wuchen and Huali like a bolt of lightning. Ge Wuchen only saw it out of the corner of his eye before it was upon him. Alarmed, he dodged clumsily, but a large section of his monk’s robe was torn off in mid-air. He looked down at his arm, his expression darkening—if he’d been just a second slower, it would’ve been ripped clean off.
He turned toward the golden light—it was a tiger made of talismans, its jaws bared, staring at him with blazing eyes, ready to pounce again.
Ge Wuchen looked back in the direction it had come from. A slender black-haired youth stood tall, arm extended toward him, black hair cascading like lotus petals along his face. He wore a faint, calm smile—more arrogant than outright mockery—as he said: “I’ve already walked up to your front door. What are you all still standing around for?”
The Yin Tiger let out a deafening roar that echoed through the mountaintop. It sprinted back to Jiang Luo’s side, but not before giving Ge Wuchen one last vicious knock.
Ge Wuchen staggered again.
Jiang Luo no longer paid him any mind. Instead, he crooked a finger at Chi You and said, “I’m a reasonable man. Even when beating a dog, you have to see who its owner is.”
Ge Wuchen barely steadied himself, brushing the dust off his robes with a grim face.
The current Jiang Luo overlapped perfectly with the figure who had once sat on the throne in the Ghost City of Fengdu. How had he forgotten? This was the man who had started the ghost-fighting arena—bold enough to drag even Chi You into battle himself. He was never someone easy to deal with!
Huali, who had already dodged away, gloated, “Told you already, Ge Wuchen—if you underestimate him, you’ll get bitten.”
Ge Wuchen took a deep breath. “Master, I’m sorry…”
The rest of his words stuck in his throat, because Chi You had already walked up to Jiang Luo, looking extremely interested.
That beckoning finger of the black-haired youth had easily hooked the evil ghost like bait on a line.
The ghost grasped Jiang Luo’s hand, slowly curling the raised finger into his palm. His gaze roamed inch by inch over Jiang Luo’s skin as he chuckled darkly. “And you? Have you become the Fate One’s dog already?”
Jiang Luo’s expression remained unchanged as he stared coldly at Chi You.
Chi You sighed lightly. “Just a few nights ago I brought back your rationality, and now, here you are like this again. Jiang Luo, you really disappoint me.”
But his voice grew lower, and more excited. “This time, I’ll stain you again as punishment.”
“With my favorite method.”
Jiang Luo threw a punch.
The Yin Tiger worked in tandem with its master’s strike, fiercely lunging at the ghost again and again. Amid the flashing golden light, the black-haired youth wielded his dagger, each stab aiming sharply at vital points.
Every strike was deadly, and Jiang Luo’s improvement was frighteningly fast. As the evil ghost dodged the tiger, the tiger transformed behind him into the Si Snake, instantly coiling around his neck.
Under the night sky, their fight sparked like clashing weapons.
Lisa watched, dumbfounded, the lollipop forgotten in her hand. She muttered, stunned, “This is what Boss called a fragile human?”
To onlookers, it was an intense battle—but to the two combatants caught in it, there was something disturbingly intimate and charged beneath the bloodshed.
Jiang Luo’s collar was torn again.
He didn’t care at all. The ghost, on the other hand, jeered, “What a pity. If you were wearing even a bit less, you’d have no clothes left.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Jiang Luo’s outer robe was covered in slashes—waist, shoulder, collarbone. If this were summer clothing, it would’ve long since fallen off.
Still joking, Chi You remained at ease, while Jiang Luo said nothing. Instead, his strikes grew fiercer. He landed a brutal kick squarely at the ghost’s neck.
The ghost didn’t even budge, like a stone. Jiang Luo’s own shin felt like it had struck steel.
Blow after blow, Jiang Luo was clearly at a disadvantage. He switched tactics, raising his golden dagger to the ghost’s throat. Chi You slapped his hand aside, then clamped tightly onto both his wrists—his grip so strong it felt like it would shatter the bones. “Warm-up’s over. You can’t beat me.”
“Is that so?” Jiang Luo suddenly smiled with a vicious glint. “Then how about this?”
Behind the ghost, all the Yin-Yang talismans transformed into gleaming daggers, circling with deadly intent—ready to plunge into his body at any moment.
Chi You didn’t turn to look. His gaze darkened. “So you really weren’t affected.”
Jiang Luo’s wrists were pinned, but his fingers could still move. He pinched the dagger’s hilt between two fingers and pressed the blade to Chi You’s chest, scoffing, “You don’t look all that surprised.”
Chi You curled his lips and leaned in.
“Don’t move,” Jiang Luo pressed the dagger in harder without mercy. “Chi You, how about we talk cooperation?”
“Cooperation?”
Jiang Luo flicked his eyes meaningfully around them.
The next moment, black mist surged up, enveloping the two of them.
It swallowed them whole, cutting the two mortal enemies locked at each other’s throats off from the crowd. Huali moved to rush forward. “Master!”
Ge Wuchen quickly stopped him. “Huali, don’t be rash. The master will be fine.”
At the mountaintop, Feng Li also seemed ready to intervene. But the Fated One said, “Heavenly Master, stay your step.”
Feng Li acted as if he hadn’t heard and stepped forward.
“Feng Li,” said the Fated One again.
Feng Li froze.
Daoist Wei He forced a stiff smile to try to soothe him. “Heavenly Master, don’t worry. If the Fated One asked you to stop, it means Jiang Luo will be fine.”
Inside the black mist, the confrontation had taken an unexpected turn.
The golden dagger did not instantly take the ghost’s life, nor did the ghost use the black mist to kill the human.
“Let’s not talk about cooperation just yet,” the ghost said with a deranged grin. He pinched Jiang Luo’s cheeks hard, the coldness in his smile chilling. “Let’s talk first about the changes in your body.”
“Your earring,” he said, brushing a hand past Jiang Luo’s ear, tracing down with unsettling gentleness. His voice grew colder. “Such a pretty earring… But didn’t I tell you? Every inch of your blood and skin belongs to me.”
“And you pierced a hole in your ear—without my permission?”
Jiang Luo laughed, lazy and sarcastic. “You sound like a dog marking its territory.”
He couldn’t help feeling a little regretful—pity the Soul Capture Pendant had already been used today. No chance to peek into Chi You’s internal world.
Chi You sneered and bit Jiang Luo’s left ear.
His teeth were like stone—Jiang Luo’s ear quickly started to bleed, the pain sharp as if a chunk of flesh had been torn out. He winced, scowled, grabbed Chi You’s hair, and yanked hard. “Let go.”
The black mist shut out all noise and prying eyes. It also blocked the cold wind. Jiang Luo no longer had to wear a mask.
He was ruthless and petty—after breaking free, he lunged forward and bit the ghost’s ear in return.
But even with all his strength, he couldn’t bite off a piece of Chi You’s flesh.
The malicious ghost chuckled lowly as he wrapped his arms around him, straightening his hair. “You did something that made me very unhappy.”
He hummed a tune, his fingers sliding from the dark-haired youth’s strands down to his neck, stopping at the throbbing artery. “I need to give you a punishment you’ll remember.”
“Punishment?” Jiang Luo sneered. “Funny, because you pissed me off today too.”
With weapons cast aside, and long-trained techniques left behind, the human and the malicious ghost once again fought like two wild beasts, savagely tearing at each other in the snow.
In the midst of their struggle, the malicious ghost tore off Jiang Luo’s pant leg. His long, straight legs stretched out in the dark mist, their stark paleness glaring to the eye.
The malicious ghost’s hand rested lightly on that leg.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he restrained himself. Leaning down, he spoke beside the youth’s ear, now trapped beneath him.
“What now? When you leave the black mist in a bit, they’ll see you like this.”
A faint, teasing laugh. “Bullied by a malicious ghost, with one pant leg gone. What do you think they’ll make of that?”
Jiang Luo was panting heavily from exhaustion, a sheen of sweat forming on his brow. His chest rose and fell violently as he glared at him.
The malicious ghost’s hand kept caressing him, the ticklish sensation at his fingertips forcing Jiang Luo’s waist to tense and arch, unbearably uncomfortable.
The dark-haired youth’s eyes turned red at the corners from being touched. He lowered his voice in a warning: “Don’t go too far.”
“But fortunately, I’ve got a solution,” the malicious ghost’s tone shifted. “You’ve burned a lot of things in the past.”
“My clothes. Your clothes.”
He licked a wound he had just bitten open.
“Funny thing is, everything you’ve burned… came to me,” the malicious ghost laughed quietly. “Your shirt, your pants, the soiled bedsheets and covers, and…”
With a wicked smile on his handsome face, his long, bony fingers tore away the last fragile piece of fabric.
“Your underwear.”
