Jiang Luo: “…”
According to his original plan, Jiang Luo would first ask where Teng Bi had gone, to divert everyone’s attention. Then he’d ask if they’d been psychologically affected by the deaths in the dream. While doing so, he’d gradually move toward the bathroom. After showering, he’d feign discomfort and sleep through the rest of the day.
Tomorrow was the final day before the trial. At such a critical time, no one would press him too hard about his situation with Chi You. Jiang Luo knew he couldn’t dodge the question forever, but he still wanted to delay.
But with just one sentence, one innocent “kiss,” Lu Youyi had completely derailed his plan.
For some reason, Jiang Luo could tease and toy with Chi You without restraint, watching that malicious ghost fall under his charm with a sense of triumph. But in front of his friends, all he felt was embarrassment.
It was strange.
Back when nothing had even happened between him and Chi You, he could shamelessly fabricate all kinds of steamy stories about them. But now…
He stood frozen, lips starting to feel warm again.
The winter air was dry, and his lips had begun to chap. He wanted to lick them, but halfway through the motion, he stopped himself.
Feigning calm, he took off his down jacket and stubbornly stuck to his plan. “Where’s Teng Bi?”
Lu Youyi’s face darkened. He rarely looked like this, but when he did, it meant he was truly angry. “He was gone when we woke up this morning.”
Seeing that the topic had shifted, Jiang Luo smiled slightly and headed to the bathroom. “Gone?”
“Yeah,” Lu Youyi said quietly. “He really betrayed us.”
This morning, when they couldn’t find Teng Bi anywhere in the apartment, Lu Youyi’s heart sank.
His life had always been smooth—never lacking money, never lacking luck. His nature was a bit simple and trusting, someone who cried at melodramas on TV. This was the first time he’d experienced betrayal by a friend, and Lu Youyi felt he would never forget the feeling.
“Forget it,” Lu Youyi muttered, shaking his head hard, hating the cloud of negative emotions, “I don’t need friends that badly… Jiang Luo, you still haven’t said anything about you and Chi You!”
But when he looked up, Jiang Luo was already gone. “Where is he?”
Ge Zhu laid on the sofa like an old man, pointing lazily at the bathroom. “Went to shower.”
At the front door, Ye Xun came in carrying the ginseng baby, followed by Wenren Lian with bags of food. Zhuo Zhongqiu tossed the car keys to Lu Youyi and teased as she looked at the ginseng doll, “Poor little thing, your dad totally forgot you. Just left you in the car.”
“Oh, you even brought along a ginseng spirit!” Ge Zhu immediately jumped up and ran over, eyes shining as he looked at the little ginseng doll, practically drooling. “Just one of those roots must be worth a fortune.”
He teased along, “Little treasure, how about you stop following Jiang Luo and come with me instead? I’d never leave you forgotten in the car.”
The ginseng doll pouted at Ge Zhu, then let out a few exaggerated sobs of “ying ying ying” and threw itself pitifully into Ye Xun’s arms. “Maybe I’m just cheap and lowly,” it whimpered. “All I want is Daddy…”
It didn’t trust these humans one bit—ginseng spirits were smart, after all! Everyone else looked at it with either greed or excitement in their eyes. Only Jiang Luo showed no interest at all. The little ginseng had once tried seducing him with bathwater and tears, but Jiang Luo wasn’t the least bit tempted—in fact, he seemed downright disgusted.
Although that had been a blow to the ginseng spirit’s pride, it also confirmed that staying with Jiang Luo was the safest choice—because he was the only one who wouldn’t try to eat it.
And most importantly, Jiang Luo was really good-looking.
If it could transform into a human, it would definitely choose to look just as handsome.
That one line from the ginseng doll triggered a burst of laughter from the group.
In the bathroom.
Jiang Luo was taking a slow shower. But even when you take your time, a shower eventually ends. He put on the clothes Lu Youyi had prepared, loosely tied up his hair after drying it, dazed out for a bit, then finally walked out.
His qi hadn’t recovered yet. He wasn’t sure if one day would be enough to be fully restored. Going forward, he’d have to be more careful using spirit channelling techniques—this state was too dangerous to sustain.
His mind wandered through a jumble of thoughts as he stepped out. Everyone was already seated around the table eating. Beer and soda filled the table, and they had saved a spot just for him.
Jiang Luo sat down, picked up a cold beer, and took a sip, letting out a satisfied exhale.
Northern winters had indoor heating, making even a t-shirt feel too warm inside. Halfway through the meal, Lu Youyi finally couldn’t hold back any longer and tentatively asked, “Jiang Luo… what’s going on between you and Chi You?”
The moment the words left his mouth, all eyes turned to Jiang Luo. Clearly, everyone had been holding this question in for a long time.
They really couldn’t figure out the relationship between Jiang Luo and Chi You.
When Chi You died, Jiang Luo had cried in agony at his funeral. That’s when they realized Chi You had long been deeply in love with Jiang Luo. A human and a ghost had fallen for each other. Chi You had loved Jiang Luo so madly he’d even wanted to kill him. They’d tried countless times to talk Jiang Luo out of it, but he stubbornly insisted on staying with Chi You.
Finally, Chi You had humiliated Qi Ye so badly that Jiang Luo finally saw his true colors and broke things off once and for all. So how had they ended up kissing again?
This was more dramatic than any soap opera—they were dying to know the full story.
Faced with their eager, inquisitive stares, Jiang Luo paused, countless scripts running through his mind: hypnotized, out of his senses, old flames rekindled…
But he quickly ruled out the “forced by the evil ghost” angle—after all, his friends had turned into ghosts too. They’d probably seen the entire fight between him and Chi You with their own eyes.
They would’ve seen that when Chi You kissed him, he hadn’t resisted—he’d kissed him right back, passionately. Under those circumstances, claiming he was forced would only sound like a lie.
More importantly, Jiang Luo didn’t really feel like lying to his friends anymore.
But he also didn’t want to satisfy that evil ghost by letting people think they were officially a couple again.
His eyes shifted—then suddenly lit up. He had an idea.
The “offering oneself to the ghost” script.
Blending truth and fiction, Jiang Luo took another sip of beer, leaned back in his chair, and said slowly, “He’s pursuing me again.”
A sharp intake of breath ran around the table.
Jiang Luo tilted his head slightly to hide a smile, then looked up with feigned worry. “I know you all don’t want me to be with Chi You. I’d resolved to stay away from him, too. But he just wouldn’t let go, so I reported it to the Heavenly Master. After we finished investigating the blood eel case, he took me to the Lian family. There, I met Daoist Elder Wei He and the Fated One.”
“Right—you guys don’t know who the Fated One is yet,” Jiang Luo gave a bitter smile and sighed. “He’s someone very powerful. Very powerful.”
Wenren Lian and Zhuo Zhongqiu exchanged a glance.
Jiang Luo gave a brief summary of the Fated One, highlighting how strong and mysterious he was. When he saw the group frowning in thought, Jiang Luo sighed again and said softly, “The Fated One once prophesied that a great calamity would befall the metaphysical world. And the one to cause it—was Chi You. He said Chi You still had feelings for me and hoped I would accept his pursuit. Even if I didn’t like him, I shouldn’t outright reject him. When the time came, and Chi You let down all his guard toward me… he told me to kill him.”
“Only by doing so could the metaphysical world be spared from disaster.”
Ge Zhu frowned, clearly displeased. “What kind of cr*p method is that?”
What kind of strategy was that?
It was like throwing Jiang Luo into a tiger’s den, using his body as bait.
The whole thing was shady and vile. Their opinion of the Fated One instantly plummeted.
Even if his prophecy were true and Chi You would become a threat, if the Fated One wanted to take him down, he should’ve done it openly. But instead, he wanted Jiang Luo to fake affection, pretend to give in, and stab Chi You in the back once he let his guard down? The very thought disgusted them.
Especially since Jiang Luo and Chi You had once been lovers who’d loved and missed each other deeply. Who could guarantee Jiang Luo no longer had feelings for him?
Jiang Luo, as if oblivious to their grim expressions, continued drinking to drown his sorrows and said, “Chi You and I… we did have something in the past. And he still likes me—so much that he’s willing to kill himself over and over in a dream. Even if I’ve broken things off, I don’t want to betray him like that. But for the sake of the metaphysical world… I just don’t know what to do.”
Wenren Lian asked, “What did the Heavenly Master say?”
Jiang Luo’s expression dimmed, and he silently shook his head.
Zhuo Zhongqiu suddenly slammed a fist on the table and sneered, “Ridiculous. He’s so powerful, yet instead of going after Chi You himself, he tells you to deal with him. Chi You’s death was suspicious to begin with, and now even after he’s dead, someone still won’t let him go. I bet that man had something to do with Chi You’s death, too.”
“And this supposedly concerns the whole metaphysics world? Then how come we haven’t heard a word about it? My dad’s never mentioned anything either. What a load of cr*p—I think that so-called prophecy is just an excuse to serve his own agenda!”
Lu Youyi looked conflicted. “I really thought you and Chi You had gotten back together. The way you two kissed—like newlyweds who hadn’t seen each other in years. Who would’ve thought there was such a complicated reason behind it. What exactly did he foresee, that he’d let you be the one to kill Chi You?”
Jiang Luo shook his head and gave a helpless smile. “I don’t know what he predicted, either. Earlier, you guys were wondering why I asked Ge Zhu about ‘Bailu Temple’—it’s because the Fated One has a deep connection with that place. I want to find out who this Fated One really is, and what exactly his prophecy was.”
Ge Zhu suddenly understood. “No wonder… Jiang Luo, I’ll help you investigate. There are some things outsiders can’t access, but I have ways to get my hands on certain materials.”
Jiang Luo raised his beer toward him in thanks.
His companions’ reactions were within Jiang Luo’s expectations. He hoped this would make them wary of the Fated One and the Six Major Clans—and better yet, get them to start preparing for the crisis foretold to come.
Lu Youyi sighed and then asked curiously, “So, now that Chi You’s pursuing you… are you going to say yes?”
“I bet you kissing him back wasn’t just because of the Fated One’s plan, right?” Wenren Lian recovered from his shock and teased meaningfully, “Jiang Luo, we couldn’t hear what you two were saying in Ghost Tower Building. But we definitely saw you hit him—and he barely fought back. Especially at the end… You two kissed like it was the end of the world, like flames meeting dry wood. He kissed you first, fine, but you kissed him back. Don’t tell me you’re completely over him—I’m not buying it.”
Ye Xun also added firmly, “You and Chi You looked really… intimate.”
Jiang Luo’s smile faltered.
He started doubting himself again.
He and Chi You… really looked intimate?
Wasn’t it more like mutual torment between sworn enemies?
