At night, the sidewalk was bustling with people coming and going, the city lights dimming the faint moonlight overhead.
A husky, sultry singing voice drifted faintly from the bar. Attractive men and women came and went, cars pulling up and driving off in quick succession.
Jiang Luo and Wenren Lian entered the bar low-key and without drawing attention.
As soon as they stepped inside, Jiang Luo paused briefly.
He saw wisps of ghostly energy slithering like fog across the floor tiles, tinted faintly red—this bar was hiding a ghost.
And not just any ghost, but a powerful one who had harmed many people.
Jiang Luo’s eyes followed the ghostly energy. He turned his head and said to Wenren Lian, “There’s something dirty here. I’ll go deal with it. You go wait for me in the private room.”
Wenren Lian nodded. “Be careful.”
The densest concentration of ghost energy was in the restroom. Jiang Luo followed it there. Sensing a threat, the ghost acted the moment Jiang Luo stepped inside—the door slammed shut, and the overhead lights began flickering rapidly.
Bright and dim, bright and dim. A sinister wind howled from outside the window, like cries and wails.
Calm and composed, Jiang Luo took off his coat and began drawing talismans on the back of it with swift strokes of his finger. “I’ll catch you and give you to Chi You to replenish his ghost energy.”
Blood suddenly bubbled up from the sink. Jiang Luo gave his coat a shake and stepped forward toward the basin.
***
Bai Qiu and Fu Wei had arrived early. Not long after Wenren Lian entered, Jiang Luo also showed up, fresh and tidy.
He wore a stylish white shirt, his coat balled up and casually tossed onto the sofa.
Bai Qiu scolded him half-playfully, “How can you just throw your clothes around like that?”
She was about to fold his coat when Jiang Luo quickly said, “Don’t touch that. There’s a ghost wrapped inside.”
Bai Qiu froze on the spot, letting out a shocked shriek. “A ghost?!”
Sitting next to Wenren Lian, Jiang Luo smiled and explained, “Has your friend’s bar recently had a string of blood-related accidents?”
Her friend had indeed mentioned this. Bai Qiu’s face turned pale as she nodded in fright.
Jiang Luo said, “You don’t have to worry anymore. I’ve caught the culprit.”
Bai Qiu’s legs nearly gave out from under her. Just the thought of being in the same room with a ghost made her blood run cold. She took a deep breath and forced herself to thank him on behalf of her friend, “Th-thank you, Jiang Luo. Really, thank you so much.”
Fu Wei stared at Jiang Luo’s coat for a long moment, but didn’t look too afraid.
With a ghost-trapping coat nearby, everyone accelerated the pace of the meeting. They wanted to wrap things up and leave as soon as possible. In less than twenty minutes, the deal was done.
Trying her best not to glance again at Jiang Luo’s coat, Bai Qiu forced a smile and said, “Want to hang out a bit? My friend’s bar is really lively.”
With Bai Qiu’s warm invitation, Jiang Luo and Wenren Lian politely accepted and decided to head downstairs.
While the second-floor private rooms were relatively quiet, the first floor was sheer chaos. Under flashing lights and swirling colors, the crowd became a shifting sea of shadows, swaying their bodies to the music, lost in smoke and alcohol.
There were a few empty seats by the bar. Jiang Luo casually took one and ordered a drink. The dim light above gave his appearance a lazy, relaxed air. He leaned back and lazily asked the bartender for a pack of cigarettes. The sharp-eyed bartender handed him a box of luxury cigarettes.
Jiang Luo pulled one out, lazily held it between two fingers and raised it to his lips. Just then, someone approached, automatically flicking a lighter in front of him.
Jiang Luo looked up with half-lidded eyes. A tall, handsome man gave him a confident smile.
Unbeknownst to him, many eyes in the bar were watching. A few people who had wanted to hit on Jiang Luo were now waiting to see how he would react to being beaten to the punch.
Ever since Jiang Luo walked into the bar, he had drawn a lot of attention.
He was too beautiful—his beauty came with a masculine sharpness and boldness, a flamboyant, unruly aura that pulled everyone’s gaze. In this bar, a hunting ground for romantic conquest, he had already been marked by many as a prize worth claiming.
Jiang Luo’s soft lips curled up and he spat out a single cold word: “Scram.”
The man’s face darkened and he walked away.
The bartender smartly handed Jiang Luo a lighter. Jiang Luo lit the cigarette, leaned against the bar, and watched the people around him.
His spine curved in a relaxed arc, his long untied hair loosely draped over his shoulders. In the flickering light, surrounded by the bustling crowd, Jiang Luo somehow exuded a quiet loneliness and boredom.
After the man left, perhaps someone thought Jiang Luo wasn’t into men. A sexy woman with a stunning figure came over—but she was also turned down.
Wenren Lian watched with a smile for a while and asked, “So many people, but none catch your eye?”
Jiang Luo smirked. “I’m not even interested to begin with. Once I finish this drink, I’m leaving.”
Wenren Lian looked at Jiang Luo’s side profile, hazy in the smoke, and teased, “I bet you only like Chi You’s type.”
Jiang Luo took a sip of his cocktail and chuckled. “You wouldn’t be wrong.”
Wenren Lian glanced into the crowd and suddenly pointed, “Look, doesn’t that guy over there look a bit like Chi You?”
Jiang Luo followed his gaze. A man in glasses and a sharp suit was sitting on a sofa, watching him.
Handsome, with the air of a refined scoundrel. He had obvious charm—several dolled-up young men were gathered around him.
Jiang Luo had only intended a glance, but after seeing him, he frowned.
This man really did look quite a bit like Chi You.
If Jiang Luo hadn’t known that Chi You was seriously injured, silently devouring ghosts elsewhere, he might have suspected this was a puppet manipulated by Chi You.
Wenren Lian spoke in a matchmaking tone, “I think he’s interested in you. He’s been watching you the whole time. Aren’t you planning to break up with Chi You? You could consider this guy.”
Jiang Luo’s eyelid twitched. Why was this topic coming up again?
He reminded him in a low voice, “Did you forget the dream Ge Zhu had? If I break up with him, he’ll go completely mad.”
Of course Wenren Lian hadn’t forgotten. But Jiang Luo clearly liked Chi You without realizing it himself. Wenren Lian didn’t want Jiang Luo to think he was only staying with Chi You out of obligation or because of some prophecy—mixing his feelings up with other things. That would be an insult to the feelings growing quietly in Jiang Luo’s heart, and also to Chi You’s deep affection for him.
He wanted Jiang Luo to recognize his own feelings, to admit his love from the heart and be with Chi You happily, without the burden of “destroying the metaphysical world” hanging over him.
Wenren Lian said, “Dreams are just dreams. They don’t necessarily come true.”
Jiang Luo had turned down everyone else, yet admitted to being attracted to people who were Chi You’s type. Wenren Lian believed that when Jiang Luo no longer felt anything even toward someone like Chi You, he would understand what his heart truly wanted.
As soon as Wenren Lian finished speaking, that man stood up from the sofa and started walking directly toward Jiang Luo.
The man had a clear target. When he saw Jiang Luo looking back at him, he smiled.
The resemblance was even stronger up close.
Jiang Luo stared at him for several minutes, seriously considering whether Chi You was secretly using a puppet to fool around in the bar.
The man walked up to him and ordered a drink for Jiang Luo. Jiang Luo didn’t refuse, but simply looked at him silently.
The man politely asked, “Excuse me, do you have a boyfriend?”
Jiang Luo responded coolly, “Sorry, I have a lover.”
The man didn’t press further. He simply looked at Jiang Luo in mild surprise, then courteously walked away.
That gesture completely lacked Chi You’s aura, instantly dispelling all of Jiang Luo’s suspicion and curiosity. He now felt nothing but boredom. He lazily took another drag of his cigarette, then looked back toward the man’s retreating figure—only to catch a glimpse, from the corner of his eye, of a familiar figure in the crowd.
Chi You!
Jiang Luo’s pupils shrank sharply. He jumped to his feet, grabbed his coat, and chased after him.
Even if Chi You turned to dust, Jiang Luo would still recognize him. He was certain that had been Chi You!
Jiang Luo quickly pushed through the crowd. The overwhelming mix of perfumes was nauseating, and his face grew darker by the second. By the time he burst through the bar’s front door, Chi You’s figure had already vanished.
His chest rose and fell violently as he stared hard at both sides of the street. Chi You was gone, as if he had evaporated into thin air—so fast it seemed like Jiang Luo had imagined the whole thing.
D*mn it.
Jiang Luo kicked the base of the wall hard, trying to calm the fire in his chest.
Was he really hallucinating?
But Jiang Luo’s instincts told him that had definitely been Chi You.
If it really was Chi You, why had he come here? Was it for business like Jiang Luo, or… was it to find Jiang Luo?
But if it was to see him—why not show himself?
Jiang Luo closed his eyes, pulled out his phone, and called Wenren Lian.
A few minutes later, Wenren Lian came out of the bar. The two got in the car and drove off. Jiang Luo didn’t say a word the entire ride, his expression heavy and stormy. Sensing his foul mood, Wenren Lian didn’t disturb him.
Back in his room, Jiang Luo began searching for the phone Chi You had given him during the New Year.
It was the only way to contact Chi You.
A few days ago, Jiang Luo hadn’t tried to reach him, thinking Chi You needed peace to recover and shouldn’t be disturbed unless it was urgent. But after seeing that familiar silhouette in the bar, Jiang Luo couldn’t shake the thought. He needed to know where Chi You was.
He found the phone and dialed the one and only number in the contacts list.
He waited a long time, but no one answered.
He tried five times in a row—same result.
Jiang Luo’s face gradually returned to calm. Then suddenly—with a crushing grip—he shattered the phone into pieces.
Fragments fell from between his fingers. Jiang Luo smoothed out his expression, walked out the door as if nothing had happened, and stopped in front of Ge Zhu’s room.
“Ge Zhu?”
Ge Zhu opened the door, puzzled. “What’s up?”
Jiang Luo said, “Call Ge Wuchen. Ask him how the investigation on Teng Bi is going.”
Ge Zhu nodded obediently and turned to go back inside.
Jiang Luo followed naturally and sat beside him, listening to the call.
Ge Wuchen picked up quickly. He already guessed what Ge Zhu wanted to ask, and before Ge Zhu could speak, he answered first: “We’ve found his birth date and time, but no one knows his date of death.”
Ge Zhu frowned and looked at Jiang Luo.
Jiang Luo mouthed silently: “Chi You.”
Ge Zhu asked cautiously, “Not even Chi You knows?”
“I haven’t asked him,” Ge Wuchen replied. “I haven’t seen him since Master left. When Master returns, I’ll ask. If even he doesn’t know, then no one in this world does.”
Jiang Luo’s lips pressed into a line. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke: “The matter of Teng Bi should be resolved as soon as possible. Find a way to contact him.”
“Is Benefactor Jiang there too?” Ge Wuchen let out a small laugh, then sighed and said sincerely, “Benefactor Jiang, it’s not that we don’t want to contact Master. Huali and Liao Si can transmit their thoughts to him through their heart connection. We’ve tried that method, but Master hasn’t responded. If he doesn’t answer us, there’s nothing we can do but wait.”
Jiang Luo gave a cold, soundless laugh. “Is that so?”
“Of course,” Ge Wuchen responded. “Unless… you have some urgent reason to contact Master?”
“Teng Bi’s matter is an urgent one,” Jiang Luo said listlessly. “Since you don’t know where he is, I’m hanging up.”
“Wait.”
Ge Wuchen suddenly spoke.
Jiang Luo: “What else do you want?”
Ge Wuchen lowered his voice and said, “Master Chengde of Dazhao Temple wishes to meet with you, Benefactor Jiang—to discuss a grand plan against the Fated One.”
Jiang Luo immediately understood the unspoken meaning in his words. “You told the Buddhist sect that the Fated One was severely injured?”
Ge Wuchen smiled without answering. After a moment, he said, “The Fated One is already gravely wounded and has lost most of his followers. Now is the perfect time to strike and finish him off. You and Master disappeared without reason for half a month, and now Master is missing again—that’s a lot of wasted time. To avoid long delays and complications, Benefactor Jiang, you might as well go to Dazhao Temple and speak with Master Chengde. Masters of Dazhao Temple are kind and compassionate; they’ll surely lend you a helping hand.”
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