Cooperation?
…
Heh.
A crude insult nearly escaped Jiang Luo’s mouth, but he swallowed it back down. His face didn’t change as he replied, “Yes. Cooperation.”
Chi You looked relaxed. “Go on.”
Jiang Luo said, “The person you’re looking for… is the Fated One, isn’t it?”
Chi You raised an eyebrow.
“But you’re not planning to fight him just yet,” Jiang Luo crossed his arms, gaze sharp. “He’s the one who gave your Chi family’s direct bloodline their ghost patterns, isn’t he?”
“Oh, so you eavesdropped on our conversation,” Chi You said, suddenly enlightened. “Used your little mouse? No wonder you were going after Ge Wuchen earlier.”
Jiang Luo ignored the attempt to steer the conversation and continued, “Your goal is to kill the Fated One. Coincidentally, I find him pretty irritating too. Since we share the same target, why don’t we put our grudge aside for now—and deal with him first.”
Chi You narrowed his eyes. “The person you want to kill most—is it him, or me?”
Jiang Luo almost laughed at the audacity of the question. He sneered, “the Fated One is a lot more likable than you.”
“How heartbreaking,” Chi You said, though he looked oddly pleased. “So, what do you want to do?”
Jiang Luo rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you tell me first—why did you say now isn’t the right time to go up against him?”
The malicious ghost said nothing, but Jiang Luo seemed happy to answer for him.
“Because you can’t beat him yet? Or maybe he’s got something crucial in his hands?” The dark-haired youth, recently tormented, had already put that unpleasant memory behind him. He walked lightly around the malicious ghost, practically dancing on the edge of his patience. “I’ve never seen the Fated One in action. He looks older, but his appearance is young. Could he be ageless? But no one in the world can truly be ageless, right?”
“No matter what he is—human or otherwise—he’s strong. Of course, you’re strong too,” Jiang Luo gave Chi You a false smile and continued, “But your soul is fractured, refined into four Yuan Tian Beads. You have two. I have one. So where’s the last one?”
“Probably in the Fated One’s hands,” Jiang Luo answered himself. “He’s the one behind the Mirror Realm. To let me see your true nature—see you as the origin of evil—he fabricated a younger version of you. But he knew that just a fake Chi You, no matter how vicious, wouldn’t stir anything in me, because I’d know it wasn’t really you. He wanted me to feel true killing intent. So he made the version in the mirror so real, I would mistake it for you. That Chi You I spent a week with in the mirror realm… was likely the last Yuan Tian Bead.”
The malicious ghost looked at the freely-speaking Jiang Luo, as if he could see stars in his eyes.
Jiang Luo chuckled and said, “If that Chi You was another Yuan Tian Bead, then he was a part of you. the Fated One factored in even your reactions. He knows you well. I don’t know who he really is, but he must…”
…know how to forge artifacts.
Jiang Luo suddenly touched the Yin-Yang hoop, fingers stroking the carved gold incantations on it. His eyes darkened.
Chi You’s soul had likely been refined into Yuan Tian Beads by the Fated One.
No—not only that…
Jiang Luo suddenly recalled Chi You’s death.
Chi You was indirectly killed by the original host. The original host was triggered after coming across a forbidden technique on an internal site that could strip away someone’s soul essence. Overcome by temptation, he decided to use it on Chi You.
It wasn’t the Qi family or Chi family that had given the forbidden art to the original host. If it had been, they wouldn’t have believed Jiang Luo’s lies about being Chi You’s lover who would one day avenge him.
The one who gave him the forbidden technique… was likely the Fated One.
Jiang Luo’s eyes dimmed.
The Fated One… fate…
Was his arrival in this world connected to that person?
Why did this body look nearly identical to his body in the real world?
If all of this was part of the Fated One’s plan…
Jiang Luo’s lips curled into an ambiguous smile.
Then he really should thank him—for bringing him to a more exciting world, for letting him meet the malicious ghost Chi You whom he had once adored and then come to loathe, for making some genuine, kind friends. But aside from that, Jiang Luo truly believed the Fated One deserved to die.
He stood above everything, as if all lives were mere ants crawling along a preordained track. Who could like that feeling?
Jiang Luo returned to the point. “You’re holding back from confronting him—probably because of the Yuan Tian Bead. I need your help to deceive him. I want to uncover his secrets. If I find anything—another Bead or other clues—I’ll share them with you.”
The Fated One was deep and unfathomable, but Chi You didn’t doubt that Jiang Luo could handle it. This proposal worked in his favor. He smiled and nodded. “What do you need me to do?”
Jiang Luo returned a polite smile. “First of all… I’ll need to beat you half to death.”
Chi You’s smile paused.
He slowly turned his head—behind him, three daggers suspended in midair gleamed coldly.
The next instant, dagger after dagger shot into his body with lightning speed.
Blood soaked his suit in moments. The malicious ghost looked down at the runic daggers in his body, then back at Jiang Luo.
Jiang Luo whistled, his eyes squinting in delight as he strolled leisurely up to Chi You. He reached out with two fingers to tuck the sharp edge of the white cloth peeking out of Chi You’s chest pocket back in. “Mr. Chi.”
His face was still flushed from earlier passion, but he had already regained composure. Lips curled lazily, his eyes shimmered with a dangerous glint. The youth once again wore his poisonous barbs. He tilted his head and whispered beside the malicious ghost’s ear, laughing softly, “Make sure not to bleed on my underwear later.”
“This round’s on me,” he added cheerfully, “but next time, I’ll destroy every last piece of clothing I ever left in your care.”
With that, Jiang Luo gave Chi You’s shoulder a pat and walked out of the black mist.
As he waved, two of the daggers flew back into the Yin-Yang hoop. The last dagger, still embedded in Chi You’s arm, exploded with script beneath the skin—blasting his arm clean off.
Blood spurted, spraying across Chi You’s pale, handsome face. He looked down at his bloodstained breast pocket, then suddenly burst into manic laughter.
“Hahahahaha…”
After seriously injuring the malicious ghost, the final dagger finally returned to Jiang Luo’s hand.
Jiang Luo stopped at the edge of the black mist. He looked down at himself and felt that the injuries weren’t quite convincing enough. He took out a knife, intending to add a few more cuts.
But Chi You stepped forward and came to his side, smearing the blood flowing from his own body onto Jiang Luo’s clothes and face.
Jiang Luo paused, slightly surprised. “Thanks.”
The malicious ghost slowly wiped the blood from his face. Like a handsome yet terrifying killer, he smiled gently and said, “No need.”
Outside the black mist.
Jiang Luo and Chi You had been fighting inside for nearly half an hour.
Feng Li was already losing patience. After another thirty seconds, he directly stepped down, no longer paying attention to the Fated One.
The funeral shop owner glanced cautiously at the Fated One. Seeing he made no move to stop them, he quickly followed Feng Li toward the black mist.
Huali was also very worried about his master.
Unlike the dismissive Ge Wuchen or the reckless Lisa, Huali—who had once been tricked by Jiang Luo—clearly knew how difficult this human was to deal with. He would use all kinds of tactics to confuse his master and strike when the master was least prepared. Completely unpredictable.
But no matter how worried Huali was, he still couldn’t enter the black mist.
Even so, he wasn’t about to let anyone else go in to help Jiang Luo against his master either.
Just as Ge Wuchen and Huali were about to block Feng Li and the funeral shop owner, Lisa suddenly exclaimed in delight, “Boss and the pretty guy are out!”
They quickly turned back.
The black mist dissipated, revealing the malicious ghost and the human inside. It was clear they’d fought a fierce battle. The malicious ghost had lost an arm, his body covered in grime and wounds. The human was equally disheveled, drenched in sweat, face damp, the corners of his eyes red from heat. Clutching his injuries, he showed no expression, but the pain was evident—he was clearly at his limit.
Ji Yaozi’s expression changed drastically. “Jiang Luo!”
Ge Wuchen and Huali’s faces also shifted. They quickly stepped in front of Chi You. “Master.”
Feng Li’s eyes scanned Jiang Luo up and down in an instant. He pressed his lips into a thin line and gave Chi You a cold, murderous glare, but seeing Jiang Luo’s injuries couldn’t wait, he didn’t argue further and moved to lift Jiang Luo in his arms.
Jiang Luo stepped back to avoid him. Pale-lipped, he forced a faint smile and said mildly, “Sir, I may be injured, but not to that extent. I can walk on my own.”
Without waiting for Feng Li’s reaction, he began walking slowly toward the Fated One and Daoist Wei He.
His pace was slow—two or three times slower than usual. Ji Yaozi guessed his legs were probably injured too. As Jiang Luo walked, it seemed like he spotted a purplish bruise around Jiang Luo’s ankle.
Ji Yaozi wanted to sigh, but with Feng Li nearby, he held it back. He glanced at Chi You, clicking his tongue. “You two really went at it.”
The others didn’t know, but he and Feng Li were well aware of Jiang Luo and Chi You’s past. They were once a loving couple, yet now they’d come to this… What a pity.
Behind them, Chi You was still staring at Jiang Luo’s back.
Only he and Jiang Luo knew why Jiang Luo was walking so slowly.
Because this young man, so dignified in the presence of his elders after “bravely fighting the malicious ghost,” wasn’t wearing any underwear under his pants.
Ge Wuchen and Huali followed Jiang Luo with their eyes. Ge Wuchen had originally been alarmed that Jiang Luo had managed to injure Chi You, but seeing that Jiang Luo was clearly more seriously hurt, he felt relieved. “Benefactor Jiang is quite impressive to be on equal footing with you. But judging by his condition, he’s probably more seriously injured. You needn’t worry—at the top of the mountain lives the Lian family, and they’ll treat him.”
Huali picked up Chi You’s severed arm. “Master, your arm.”
Chi You didn’t seem to hear them. He simply kept staring at Jiang Luo as he slowly disappeared from sight.
“…The second time,” he murmured. “Jiang Luo… Jiang Luo…”
That name now seemed to carry a special weight.
Lisa, on her seventeenth lollipop of the night, ran up to them and blinked at Chi You. “Boss, the pretty guy just left like that? When’s he going to join us and become my partner?”
“Your partner?” Chi You sneered dismissively. “How could he possibly be your partner?”
The malicious ghost’s smile widened, his tone pleased. “His opponent, lover, and partner—can only be me.”
Lisa’s mouth fell open. The lollipop dropped from her lips.
…?
Boss, that’s not what you said before.
Author’s Note:
Lisa: [Shocked face]
